Across the 10 Dimensions
by XxTurtleTomboy173xX
Summary: A girl with a broken family and an everlasting love of martial arts begins her new life in New York City. Very shortly after her move to the Big Apple, she makes 4 unexpected new friends. The challenges she faces will defy everything she believes in, the knowledge she possesses, and the one she really loves.
1. Chapter 1 - Resolved

"Rachel, make sure you put your backpack and the rest of your things in the car," my mom calls from the downstairs of our empty apartment. I don't answer, only stare out of the cracked pane of my bedroom window. I can see my mom's old car parked outside, a few boxes scattered around it like knick knacks by the curb at a yard sale.

"Rachel, are you ready to go?"

I still don't answer her, but I pick up my tattered backpack and the last of my things, a brown duffle in the corner of the room. Turning round, I gaze at the vast openness, scanning every last inch of space as if to copy all the memories of loneliness and solitary to put them onto a hard drive inside my memory bank.

My grip tightens on the bag in my hand. A small comic book slips onto the floor. I examine the bag to notice that it had a huge hole ripped in the bottom. More contents tumble onto the floor: my small wooden bokken, a black training garb, and more comic books.

I pick up the comics, flipping through the pages in unison. I stop at one of the big pictures, running my fingers over it like I did when my dad would read them to me. Sometimes, I felt that I could almost feel him right beside me again, if I looked just far enough.

"Rachel...Rachel?" my Mom calls, shattering my trace.

"Yeah?"

"Honey, we have to go now. It's time."

Reluctantly, I obey. I stuffed the contents back into the bag, carefully holding the hole closed. I had told my mom I had gotten rid of my training equipment, but I kept it anyway. Training in martial arts has become my only way to spend my unlimited spare time, due to the fact that I dropped out of school long ago, after my dad left us. Now that my mom has found a new job out of state, she plans to enroll me in a new school. Hopefully, I will make it through the first quarter without being suspended for giving some random student a black eye. In any case, I can easily take care of myself in a tight situation.

I climb into the awaiting passenger seat while my mom climbs into the driver's side. It takes her a minute to get the old engine started, but it eventually gets running.

Neither one of us says anything to each other for what feels like hours.

"I don't see why I have to go," I say softly, breaking the silence.

"Go where?"

"To this new school."

"Rachel, we've talked about this."

"No, you talked and I listened."  
"Because you only have three years left and you need the education if you are to live under a roof with a decent job. It's a requirement."

"What does it even matter? I can't afford college anyway. It's only a waste of money just for me to fail."

"You wouldn't fail if you apply yourself to the work. If you apply yourself to it, you can land on top. I miss him too, but you can't throw away your life or any other opportunity because he's gone. You father loved you and wanted you to become the best you could be. I need to help carry that on for him."

I don't say anything more. This has nothing to do with my dad leaving and disappearing. No one ever asked me if I wanted to live for the rest of my life in my aunt's crappy apartment. No one asked me if I wanted to be set into a high school with a bunch of punks. What would my father think about that?

Hands shake me awake out of sleep. For a moment, I think I'm back in my own bed in Phili, but I frown when I realize the truth. I sit up on a lumpy mattress, tucked under a raggedy blanket in a room packed with box in all corners. I remember now.

"Rachel, wake up honey. You over slept. You're gonna be late on your first day."

"Late for what?"

"School!" I groan again and pull the sheet over my head. I haven't been going school for the the past several years and I'm not in any rush to start going again.

"Rachel, wake up. If you don't-"

"Helen, come down and help me with theses boxes. If that girl is late to school, it's her own fault. I have much better things to do than move you in myself!"

"Coming Aunt Flora. I know it's hard Rachel, but you can finally start off with a clean slate." she makes her voice soft and as soothing as possible,"Just try. For me. Please."

I don't answer as she walks out of the room. "Okay, I'll try," I say softly.

I rummage through a box labeled "clothes" and pull out a red button up shirt. a pair of skinny jeans ripped at the knee, my favorite leather jacket, and my black studded boots. I also pull out a golden bracelet lined with spikes that my mom gave me shortly after my dad left and sling my backpack and gym bag over my shoulder as I troop down the stairs. No matter how hard I try, I'll never pass as a New Yorker. I don't even bother to do anything with my hair. I just leave it in the messy braid that I slept with.

When I walk into the dining room, a piece of burnt toast rests on a cracked yellow plate next to a pile of runny eggs that look as if they just came out of their shells at the island. A lady with a white bun glued to her head with hair spray stands with her back to me on the other side of the counter.

"What is that?" I say, taking a seat and poking at the repulsive food with a fork.

"Your breakfast." she says sharply, not bothering to turn and look at me. "If you're not satisfied you can do without it today. I won't have you being ungrateful for what you've been given. You'll eat whatever I give you."

"Whatever." I choke down the eggs, holding my nose as the slop trickles down the back of my throat. The taste makes me gag and half of it lands on my plate. "Geeze, what did you put in this? expired orange juice?"

She wheels around the counter, grabs my braid and yanks it back so I'm forced to look at her in the eyes, which have pupils so big, they can swallow you whole. Her breath reeks of liquor and it looks like she's never seen a dentist in her life. My fork clatters to the tile floor.

"You had better appreciate what I've done for you. If I wasn't so generous to let you live here after your father's little disappearing act-"

Heat rises into my face and my hands curl into fists, burning on fire. I pull my hair out of her grasp. I'm not afraid of her! I don't even care if she is my aunt. No one talks trash about my father to my face! "Don't you dare talk about my father that way!"

"If you refuse my generosity, then you can live out on the streets!"

"That would suit me just fine!" My hand connects!

The scene before my eyes shifts! The red print of a hand appears on the right side if my aunt's face. I stumble back speechless, staring at my own hands. She doesn't look at me. I hear a choke noise behind us on the other side of the room. My mom's face peeks out from around the corner. She saw! She saw me strike! After I promised her I would contain it!

"Mom." I say softly, her eyes overflowing with tears. But my words have no effect. I stare in disbelief at what I've done, my fists falling to my sides lifeless. The flame is burnt out.

She walks away tromping up the stairs. I immediately leave my aunt and quietly follow her. Peeping around the corner, I see her sitting on her bed with her back to me. She's holding something but, I can't see it from where I'm standing behind the door. She lets out a sob, falling onto the bed with the item tumbling onto the floor. The light from the open window illuminates a silver chain with a diamond wedding band on it. The tears start welling up in my eyes.

"Mom?" I whisper.

She doesn't answer or move a muscle as if she's made of stone. What is she doing? Why isn't she scolding me? I find myself wishing that she'd be angry at me. Her cold and eerie silence is even more frightening. As frightening as the anger that I unleashed on my aunt, like this was all she expected from me.

"I'm really sorry, Mom."

She continues to stare at the wall."I don't want to talk about it Rachel. You're going to be late to school if you miss the bus. Just go."

I walk down the stone steps like one condemned, the ghost of my aunt's face stinging red on my hand. I avert my eyes of the other students, staring out of the musty window at the blur of passing cars. I have no family left. And it's all my fault.

So, this chapter is a bit of a filler to give some background info on the main character of the story! Please comment and tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2 - Into the Next Dimension

I drag my feet with my head turned down to ground, trying to prolong every step I take towards home. Except my real home was in Philadelphia and not in my aunt's crappy apartment.

It isn't a surprise that I got detention on my first day at this new high school in New York City. After I was caught slacking off and drawing, the other students took ever opportunity to push buttons and before I knew it, I was sitting in the principle's office. I could've cared less for the most part. Sitting in a completely quiet room, doing work on genetics with our substitute teacher Mrs. Kamble was better than being pushed around by other students on a crowded bus. There must be a new identification policy because she kept asking me what my name was and writing it down. I don't know. The only downside is that there is no bus after detention is over. That, and the fact that I will have tell my mom about it. Even if I didn't tell her, she will find out sooner or later, making my relationship with her even more tenuous than is already is. My mom also never told me how long detention was or how long the walk from the school to the apartment really was.

I turned into the next corner into an alley with a dead end and smile a little when I see two trash cans overflowing with empty bottles and beer cans. I set each one up on top of the garbage cans and open a small package full of throwing knifes out of my gym bag. Possibly the one good thing about this new school is that there are no metal detectors or any up-to-date security to catch anyone walking in with a weapon. Holding the blade with my hand at the tip, I take aim at the first one and let if fly from my fingers, nailing it perfectly in the middle. I shattered three more bottles with easy throws.

Around the next block, I hear footsteps I raise my arm again aiming at the next target, but I stop sharp mid-throw. Even joggers would not be stupid enough to come this way unless they had to. Picking up all of my knifes and shoving them into my gym bag, I slip out of the street light into the shadows; Behind one of the trash cans overflowing with garbage, my bokken in one hand and and fist full of knives in the other. The steps came closer, echoing consecutively throughout the alley, almost robotic. Down the street come two men, completely identical in appearance, with blank expressions on their faces, both carrying a large metal case in each hand.

Creeping closer and holding my bokken ready, my heart rises to my throat when I feel the crunching of a soda can under my feet! 'Oh crap!' I scream in my head.' Both men turned in my direction! Their expressions don't change, but they start towards me! I swing at the left one's head, but it only turns to the side unharmed with the sound of wood hitting metal. 'They're made of metal?' Acting on instinct, I sprint to the other end of the alley. Trash and broken glass scrape my legs as I go, but I keep running. I stop short when three more emerge from the dark, holding up large guns pointed at me. More come out of all directions! I throw one of my knives at one's head and it flew backwards against the wall with sound of clanging metal. A long slender pink arm emerges from his stomach, joined by many more! Something like a giant pink brain surfaced from his chest, except it had a pair of eyes and a mouth! It neglects its human body, leaving it lifeless on the ground and running away squealing!

As if a rock just hit me in the head, I knew these freaks. I remember seeing them when I was a kid. I scream as a stab of pain spreads throughout my body! A blaster bullet slices my side! It rips my shirt, revealing the torn, bloody flesh and the impact sends me onto the ground. "Kraang, the one known as Rachel is the one who is possessing the knowledge and means that is needed by Kraang. She is the one known as The One. Kraang must capture the one known as Rachel for interrogation for the knowledge of those known as the turtles." I yelp, holding my hand over my wound, which has already turned my shirt dark. Turtles? The Turtles? What would the Kraang want with me about the turtles? They are just illustrations in a comic book. There is no where to run and I could barely stand up with the fire burning in my side, blood dripping down my leg and onto the ground. Even my bokken is useless against metal droids. I swing up and land a strong blow on one's head, knocking him onto the ground, but two others raise their blasters. Then one of them goes off.

Time Skip

My vision is extremely blurry. When I try to open them, it increases the growing pain in my head and makes me remember the gash in my side, which sent a sharp cutting pain through me. Everything seems a blur and the colors melt together. Replaying the earlier events back through my head, I was kidnapped by the Kraang! Over the buzzing in my ears, I hear faint snatches of conversation. From the robot-like words, I can tell it's a Kraang.

"Kraang, the one known as Rachel is what is known as awake."

"Yes Kraang. However, the one known as Rachel's time is what is known as running out. Kraang must begin the experiment known as experiment "nexus."

A tingling numbness spreads through my body like electricity, making my side burn. I cough up blood, spattering it onto myself. All of my limbs feel like they're made of stone. It takes most of my energy to open my eyes. Through my blurry vision, I take one look and gasp. All around me were large pieces of machinery. What looks like dissection tools are laid out on a table right next to me, while tight nylon ropes almost prevent me from breathing. Three Kraang droids surround me, their charged blasters fixed on me like I'm their practice shooting dummy. If the Kraang are actually real, then the turtles are too! The heros I always read about in my books when I was young are real! As real as the Kraang standing all around me and as real as the growing pain from their blasters. Will they save me?

"Where am I? What's going on?" I groan.

"You, known as Rachel, will tell us the knowledge of those called the turtles that is needed by Kraang." I give a small laugh.

"Oh really, as if I would ever spill to you Kraang. I'm really bad at taking orders and unless you try to pry it out of my head yourself, I'm not telling you anything."

One of the droids pulls the trigger on his blaster. I scream as the shocking sensation in my body continues to increase drastically. My eyes struggle to stay open, giving into the pain and closing them again.

"Human known as Rachel, will tell Kraang all she know about those called the turtles." I shake my head blindly. "You are sadly mistaken! I will tell you nothing." A droid pulls a lever on the machine control panel beside me, my head spins faster and my limbs feel almost numb, making the pain escalate. 'That didn't help.'

"The one known as Rachel in what is known as time tell Kraang the knowledge of those called the turtles that is needed by Kraang." The sounds of computer keys clicking and buzzing of machinery is interrupted by the noise of an alarm. All the Kraang droids turn their attention away from me and towards the open door in front.

"Kraang, begin the experiment which is known as experiment "nexus." A large machine much like a giant orb connected to hundreds of wires glowing pink lowers down towards me. Adrenaline triggers my muscles into moving. Ignoring the burn in my side, I strain against the ropes as they cut into my skin, but I don't care. I scream against the machine's effects, yelping in pain but my cries get softer and softer. I wonder if it's too late to switch places with the droid controlling the machine. More painful than anything else is the guilt I feel from striking my aunt in front of my mom and the fact they I may never see her again; become a lab rat in a Kraang experiment.

My muscles are burning like fire. The large needle jutting down from it draws closer, making me wrestle the ropes even harder. But my attempts only prove futile. I'm too weak. Too weak to move, too weak to speak, and too weak to even care about what comes next. The pain courses through me like acid, but even worse is the pain of never seeing my mom ever again is inevitable. I don't care what happens next. My head drops back on the table weakly and the sharp metal sinks into the skin on my forehead. I scream as loud as my lungs can stand, the sound inhuman and more like a dying animal. The alarm stops and the needle withdraws, dripping specks of blood onto my cheek. Perhaps the Kraang have decided to do something worse to make me talk.

Through the ringing in my ears, I hear grunts, pants, and the sound of metal cutting through metal. Gathering my remaining energy, I open my eyes ever so slightly. Instead of definite shapes, I only see blobs of different shades of green moving like flashes of light. I also hear voices, not talking to me but to each other.

"Okay, I've disabled the alarm, but they will send more. Cover me while I...Guys, look!"

"Hey dudes! It's a girl," says a high-pitched child-like voice.

"Obviously it's a girl Mikey!" says a deeper and more mature voice. I can feel a breath on my face, sending a tingle of warmth through me. I try to open my eyes and peer at a green freckled face with a pair of soft, baby blue eyes surrounded by an orange mask.

"What are they doing to her?"

"Aww! She's soo cute! Can we keep her Leo? Please!?"

"Give her some room Mikey. Donnie, is it possible that this girl may be the weapon that the Kraang orb told us about?"

"Hmm. Possibly. It looks like the Kraang injected her with something."

"How do you know?" "Big needle hovering over her head your first clue?" says a gruff voice.

"I have no idea what it is, but it's not mutagen-based." I feel another hand gently brush over my forehead, but when it touches the wound, I wince with a hint of a whimper. I cough, sputtering blood onto my chest.

"She's been shot in the side! This wound needs special attention Leo!" Large fingers wrap around my wrist and gently attempt to pluck me off the metal table, but I stay glued under the effects. However much I desire to get up, my body refuses to move.

"It seems their holding her the table with specialized gravitons. Why would the ropes be necessary? I can disable it, but I'll need a few minutes. Don't try to move her."

"Hurry Donnie, more droids are coming!" I moan and manage to open my mouth and slightly open my eyes again, ignoring the pain in my head.

With a hoarse voice I mutter the words, "Help...me."

"Chillax dudette. We're gonna get you outta here." says the high-pitched voice.

"Mikey! We need some help over here!"

"We gotta help her though. Isn't that what we're supposed to do?" "Mikey!" says the gruff voice.

"Help destroy the Kraang first, help the wounded girl second!"

"Uuuhhh! Fine! Booyakasha!" I give a small smile and shut my eyes again. The sound of metal beating against metal seems to be all around me. I can't move. Drowsiness must be part of the effects, but I fight the growing darkness, refusing to let it swallow me.

"Done. It's wiped clean!"

"Great! Now let's grab the girl and get- Mikey? What are you doing? She'll see you." I feel the warmth of a hand on my face, but it's not a human's. A scaly, warm skinned hand gently grazing my cheek.

"Mikey stop it! Raph, cut her loose!" Like a weight being removed from my shoulders, the ropes release me and I slip off the metal table, but a strong arm breaks my fall and lays me flat on the floor. The cool metal floor on my back and neck makes me shiver as a hand gently presses against my side. The hand searches along my leg and up toward my wound. The sticky shreds of my ripped bloody shirt are slowly removed from my skin.

"I need something to tie it off." "Here. Use this." says the gruff male voice. A hand holding out a strip of red fabric.

"Raph, are you serious?"

"Just do it!" I yelp when I feel the pressure of fabric on my open wound, but I'm grateful to have it tied off. An arm gently hoists me into the air and taking care to avoid my wound, easing another under my knees.

"It's not too bad, but it may take a while to heal. Raph, what are you blushing for?" 'Ohhh! Raph's got a crush!" I hear a loud smack. "Owww!" "Say that again, and you'll be the next one tied to the lab table.

"Uhh guys, unless you want to get shot in the head, we'd better move it. And we need to stop her bleeding."

The lights of the Kraang lab flicker and I shiver when the cold night air greets me, not that it really meant much. My legs and arms are still numb. The gently sway can only mean that he's carrying me, my head tucked up against his chest to keep it from knocking around. My hand feels the smooth, hard plate of a turtle plastron. Massing the last ounce of my strength, I half open my eyes to see two green eyes, bright and alert, but without a mask. His body feels so warm! When I glance down at my aching side, it's tied off with a stripe of red fabric. Something bumps my side and I cry out softly. "Ssshh. Don't be afraid. We'll fix you up," he whispers without looking at me. I smile through half-closed eyelids. I can barely open my mouth, but under my breath, I softly mutter, "Thanks...Raphael," but I don't think he hears me. My head drops against his chest and my vision turns black. Please comment below and if you have any suggestions for me, I'll take them!


	3. Chapter 3 - The Unmasked Ninja

Rachel's POV

My head throbs angrily. I groan softly and open my eyes groggily, recalling the previous events in Kraang laboratory. The Kraang are real! And I was rescued! Someone rescued me! No, some turtles rescued me! The turtles are also real! Instead of the cool metal table against my back, I feel a lumpy mattress under me with the sweet scent of old leather. Wrapped around my legs and pulled up to my chin is a soft brown duvet comforter. I rub the remains of sleep out of my eyes, pulling myself into a sitting position. I wince and a stab of pain reminds me of my wound. I gently pull the covers off of my legs. My jeans are stuck to my skin with dried blood, but under my torn red shirt my side is neatly dressed with fresh white bandages, as well as the cuts that decorate my forearms and shins. They still feel a little heavy, but I can feel them now. When I open my eyes completely, I freeze still as a statue.

A drumset sits in one corner of the room. The a dark concrete walls are barely visible because they are plastered with movie posters and what looks like a tank with a small pet turtle in it sits in another corner. On a side table beside me is a strip of red fabric, stained with blood. My eyes widen. It's stained with 'my blood', because it was tied around my waist while I was being rescued from the Kraang lab. When I look beside the bed, I almost jump out of my skin at the figure beside me.

A large anthropomorphic, and 'maskless' turtle, is fast asleep beside me and so still that he almost seems to be made of stone. One of my favorite heroes, a mere sketch, is right beside me. I must say that the pictures I'd seen of him really don't do him justice. Based on what I read, he was always the hot-head of the team, always in tune for action and cracking skulls. How different he looks in person! How peaceful and gentle he looks while he's asleep. The black lines around his closed eyes hint that he didn't get much sleep last night. I just stare at him; from his dark green skin to his strong muscular arms, and for the first time, I notice a small lightening bolt shaped scar on the corner of his plastron. I resist the desperate urge to caress the side of his face with my fingertips. I wonder what is feels like.

I nudge his arm gingerly."Raph...Raphael?" I whisper. He doesn't respond. "Raph?" I repeat louder. He twitches slightly, half-opening his eyes. I catch a brief glimpse of his emerald eyes. For an ninja, he sure is a heavy sleeper. "Raph. Wake up." Still, he refuses to move.

'Perhaps it's best that I don't wake him,' I tell myself. With as little noise as possible, I ignore the ache in my side, silently slipping out of the bed and onto the cold concrete floor. He doesn't even twitch as I slip right through the door and into a long hall with other doors lining both sides of the walls. A light shines from the end of the hall and I instinctively slip into the shadow of stone railing, curiously peeking over the edge.

Two other turtles sit with their eyes fixed on the screen ,of a large TV in front of them. One is clad in a blue bandana, the tails hanging long over the sheaths of a pair of katana blades. The other is much smaller than the other and has an orange bandana with really short tails. 'Leonardo and Michelangelo' I say in my mind.

Above them dangles a series of steps leading to what looks like a sewer grate. The images flash through my mind, all of the pictures and images that I spent hours looking at. Ever crack, crevice, and detail is here!

"Hey Leo!" I jump and duck back behind my hiding place. "Do you think that girl has seen us before? Because she sure seemed to know Raph!"

I sign with relief, peeping over the edge again.

"How can she Mikey? We've never seen her before. What I want to know is why the Kraang wanted her."

"Whatever they wanted her for, I think we should keep her! Heck, she could live with us!"

"Mikey, we have no idea who she is. What's more, Master Splinter has rules about those things." He lets out a deep sigh. "Nevermind. I'm going to see if she's awake."

I gulp as he gets up, keeping as much of myself as I can inside the shadows as possible. The hair on the back of my neck stands up and clench my hand into a fist, ready to strike! The feeling of a presence behind me sends me wheeling 'round, but a large hand blocks my blow, fingers wrapping around my fist.

"Woah, woah! Take it easy, Princess!" My eyes lock on a pair fiery emerald eyes, staring back into mine! He freezes, releasing my hand and letting his fall to his side. He just stares at me blushing. I smile at him. A depiction from my childhood is standing right in front of me! He's real!

He looks at me with a confused expression and stutters like he's been caught red-handed. "I'm...I'm sorry. I know I look kind of different and all, but I promise that I won't hurt you. My brothers and I saved you from the Kraang and we brought you here so you can heal."

I'm speechless. All I can do is stare, with the corners of my mouth pulled up in a huge smile. He looks at me with a confused expression as if I've lost my mind. "Aren't you going to scream or something?"

I shake my head. The hundreds of words in my mouth just hang there on my lips and refuse to come out.

"Well that's a first. Can't you see that I'm a freaking turtle?"

"Of course I can see that!" The response comes out like a snap. His eyes spark with interest.

He stands so close to me that I can reach out and place my hand on his cheek. His emerald green eyes burn like eternal flames and are so deep you could get lost in them, like you're falling through never-ending patches of grass.

His face softens, offering his hand. Without much thought, I take it and he pulls me to my feet. My heart skips a beat when he speaks again.

"What's your name?" I open my mouth to speak, but I pause, his question frozen in the silence that settles on us; like I almost forgot what it was.

"My name... is...Rachel. And you're Raphael, the red ninja. Wait! How long have I been asleep?"

"Hey Raph! How's the girl?" Leonardo's voice breaks the silence. Raph's blue clad brother freezes dead in his tracks when he sees me awake. He and Raph look remarkably alike except Leo is slightly taller, leaner, has blue eyes, and a softer face than him.

"Raph?" he says slowly, still staring at me, "She's seen you.

"Call me crazy, but she isn't afraid of us Leo."

Leo looks confused at Raph. "Leo, she's looking right us and she's not screaming in terror is she?"

"Um...excuse me." I interrupt, " 'She' is standing right here."

Leo walks closer to me. He's a bit taller than me so he has to bend down to my eye level. He stares straight into my eyes. His blue eyes are sharp like a pair of double-edged swords and if stare hard enough into them, they could cut you in half. However, there is also a great kindness and understanding in them. He gives me a look of what I suspect is intrigue.

"You're really not afraid of us? You don't think we're weird or scary?" I shake my head.

"No. I've known about you for a long time. All of you."

He looks at me with amusement, and then quickly turns his attention to my bandaged side. "How are your wounds?"

"Better than they were. They still hurt a lot, but I'll live."

"You seem to already know Raphael. I'm Leonardo, but my brothers call me Leo." Raph crosses his arms. "Call me Raph."

"I know, and your other brothers are called Donatello and Michelangelo." Leo opens his mouth to say something, but immediately stops and closes it again. He starts to stare at me again.

Raph grunts, a dangerous look in his eyes. "First of all, how do you know so much about us?! And why did the Kraang have you?"

"Well...I re-really don't...know," I stutter, fumbling for an explanation.

"Raph, cool off." says Leo, stepping between me and him and shoving him backwards. He holds out his hand to me, which is several times larger than mine. "Come with me. There is someone you need to meet." Without another word, I gently place mine in his. He leads me down pass the living room. I wince when I put my weight on my wounded side. I start to stumble, but Raph grabs me and holds me steady. We walk to a closed sliding door painted with Japanese cherry blossoms. He quietly opens and closes it behind him. A few minutes later, he motions for me to walk inside, stepping to side to let me in and closing the door behind me.

The floor is covered with mismatched bright-colored rugs. A bright patch of sunlight from the sewer grate above illuminates the dark green leaves of a great tree growing out of the ground. I stare in awe at the strong healthy trunk and the branches like giant hands, stretching out over my head. How is it possible for something so beautiful and vibrant to grow in such an unlikely place as a New York City sewer?

"I am glad to see that you are awake my child." says a deep voice. I whirl round to see a tall figure towering over me like a stone pillar. The great rat master! He's dressed in a red kimono with an emerald crystal walking stick in his right hand. He has a white beard and white tufts on his ear tips like a lynx's. He stares down at me with those eagle-like, unchanging eyes of his. They look so much like Leo's; sharp and piercing, but so kind and innocent and the same time. I smile and bow respectfully to him. He does the same and motions for me to walk with him.

"How long have I been asleep?" I ask softly.

"Three days. Donatello has worked to save you without pause since they brought you here. How are your injuries?"

"Better than they were. Three days?"

"Yes." He voice grows soft and he says in a whisper, "While you were unconscious, you constantly murmured Raphael's name in your sleep. Leonardo also tells me that when you saw them, you were not afraid? He also mentioned that you knew their names. Why is this?"

I think very hard, so hard that I feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead. "I don't know. I can't remember. My past, my home, my family. It's all so blurry...somehow. It still is."

Splinter calmly strokes his beard. "Hmm. Interesting. You can remember nothing at all?"

"I...I do...remember some snatches. The Kraang wanted something from me, something to do with my knowledge of the five of you, and your friends. When I wouldn't tell them, they tortured me and injected with something. They were working on something called experiment "Nexus." They were relentless until your sons rescued me. I must say that you've taught them well.

Splinter smiles at me. "They are becoming skilled warriors, but they have barely scratched the surface of their training. But please, continue."

"Inspired by what I read about all of you, I decided to start training myself in self-defense and fighting techniques."

Splinter raises an eyebrow. "Well, until we can find your home, you are welcome to live down here with us."

My eyes grow wide and my body starts buzzing with energy. I almost can't contain my excitement, but I suppress my anxious behavior, especially in front of Master Splinter, and bow reverently to him.

"What is your name my child?"

"My name is Rachel." Raph's POV

'How can that girl know me?' I keep asking myself. We've never seen her before, and yet she knows our names and who we are. I may bet Donnie 30 bucks that she knows about his crush on April.

"Hey Raph, you okay there bro?" Leo snaps me out of my trance. I just now realize that I've been staring at the door to the dojo this whole time and try to hide that

"Oh, Yeah! I'm good."

"You sure? You've been kind of lost since 'she' woke up. Are you 'blushing?' "No! Shut up! And you mean 'Rachel.' Her name's Rachel."

Leo smirks and gives me a suspicious look. "What?"

"I know that look, Raph. You only act that way when there is something serious going on. So what is it?"

"Act what way? There is nothing going on Leo. Stick it in your shell!" I brush past him, storming off towards my room. I hear Leo say something behind me about girls, but I pretend not to hear him. I plop back on my bed and pull up the duvet over my head. I can still smell that distinctively female scent that Rachel's hair left on the pillows. It makes me feel warmer. 'Is Leo right? I can't describe the weird feeling burning inside me. Something I've never felt before. Could I 'like' her?'

'Who am I kidding?' I turn on my side, pulling the duvet tighter around me. 'She's a human girl that we rescued from the Kraang and I'm a freakish mutant turtle! Could she like me back? Is it at all possible?'

Please like and leave any suggestions in the comments below :)


	4. Chapter 4 - Drawing Conclusions

I'm sorry this chapter is a little short, but I'm still working out the kinks between Rachel's relationships with each of the turtles and this is the best I could come up with for now. If you have new ideas on how the story should play along, please leave them in the comments! I will gladly accept them! Hope you'll enjoy it! Rachel's POV

Master Splinter walks beside me, guiding me with a gentle hand on my back to a small room just like Raph's with a neatly made bed, night stand, dresser, and a large colorful on the floor.

"Until we have a proper room set for you, you may stay here in the guest room," he says.

"I can't thank you enough Master Splinter," I say with a respectful bow, "You and your sons. You've all shown me so much kindness. Thank you."

Master Splinter places a hand on my shoulder, looking serious. "You are welcome Rachel. But I have conditions. While you live with us, you must abide by our rules. Do not leave the lair, unless one of my sons is with you. You will listen to my son Leonardo. You may train with us, but you are not permitted to fight until you have fully healed." I suppress a groan of disappointment.

"Yes Master Splinter." He smiles at me as he walks out.

As soon as he's out of sight, I leap onto the bed and lie on my back, looking up at the ceiling. Within days ago, my favorite heros have become my reality. Now I'm staying as their guest and student. My wound has healed a little, but it still hurts when I put pressure on it. The other cuts I could careless about. I could really use a shower since I've been asleep for three days. But instead, I replay the endless list of questions and theories I have running through my head. No matter what I do, I can't shake them from my mind.

Why are the Kraang after me? Why can't I remember my family? Or my past? Or even why I'm here? Did I even have a family? Did they lose me or did I lose them? Did they have ties to the Kraang at all? Did they know they were real and never tell me about them? Anger and boils inside my heart for them now. Either they didn't need me as an extra mouth to feed or it proved a better option to hand me over to the Kraang. To earn their favor. Either way, my love and any faith I hold for them is now gone. Why should I even go home? Because I no longer have one. At least one that I can remember. My mind is straying from my train of thought and it's really exhausted me. The bed they provided for me is really comfortable and I rub my head against my pillow. Without hesitation, I let myself be drawn into the darkness of sleep. Short time skip When I open my eyes, the room is exactly the same. My sleep is dreamless, but I suppose that is what happens to someone who's mind is empty of memory. When I sit on the side of my bed, I immediately sense a presence. A figure leaning against the door frame. For a moment, I think it's Raphael and I sit up in the bed, but when I do so, I realize my mistake. He glances at me in the dim light with those sharp vigilant blue eyes of his, burning in the dark like bright flames. And that kind, ever so warming smile.

"I can see you're already settled in," he says in a hushed whisper, as if trying to keep his voice as soft as possible. For a while, he doesn't move and he fiddles with a small dagger in his hands. He finally locks eyes with me and I see the look in his face completely, like he wants to tell me something. My face gets warm and almost immediately, I break the gaze. He walks over to me and sits on the end of my bed with a look of concern in his eye. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." It comes out like a snap, making him pull away from me and looks at the ground.

I let out a deep sigh. "Why can't I remember anything? It's like my memory is completely blank."

He continues to look at the ground, sitting in silence searching for an answer, until he finally speaks. "I really don't know. My guess would be the serum that the Kraang injected you with. Donnie's already hard at work trying to figure it out."

I shake my head in dismay. "Even if he finds out what's wrong with me, there is no telling that it will be possible for me to remember...my parents...my past...or even why I'm here. He can't assure that I will get them back." my voice cracks.

Tears rise into my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. Not in front of of Leo. A hand forces my chin up so that I look into his eyes.

"Hey," he says softly, "Donnie is the smartest person I now. He'll figure something out. And you won't be alone. We'll be there with you."

I frown. "But what if it never happens? What if I can't remember? What if-" he hushes me with his fingertips cutting me off.

"What if there are no more 'What ifs'?" He smiles at me with a look full of sympathy that makes me melt. I throw my arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. I can fell the heat rising into his skin from the sudden contact, but he wraps his arms around my waist in return. After a few minutes, he pulls back just far enough to look at me, gently brushing a few strands of hair out my face, looking hard into my eyes.

"You should get some sleep." he says, and he releases me, pulling the duvet up over my legs. As he walks to the door, I quickly grab his hand.

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

So Rachel and Leo shared a bit of a brother sister moment! Which turtle should she end up with and will she get her memory back with the help of her new friends?


	5. Chapter 5 - The Other Side of the Line

Rachel's POV

I laid on my bed with my face turned up towards the ceiling, staring off into space. That was my usual day schedule. Ever since I was rescued from the Kraang laboratory, I've been confined to my room until I fully recuperate with Leo checking in on me regularly, making sure that I'm comfortable and have everything I need. Every night, Donnie runs tests on me to, working to find the solution to my missing memory. I feel bad that he works himself so hard all because of me, staying up at all hours of the night when he needs rest. Mikey brings me meals everyday, so not so good looking on the outside but actually really delicious once you taste it. He keeps me company and brings me comic books from his collection to read, to help pass the time. Even Master Splinter sometimes brings me a steaming cup of tea to warm me up before I fall asleep.

Occasionally, I began to notice Raphael watching me. Every night, out of the corner of my eye, I would catch him right outside the door, as if making sure that I was still there. Sometimes I would pretend I was asleep and I slightly open my eyes, and there he was peeking through the cracked door. A few times, he realized that I had noticed him and he would disappear. However, he hasn't spoken to me ever since I woke up, always avoided my gaze, and shrugged off my attempts to talk to him.

Short time skip

I went to bed early to get some extra sleep. Even though I sleep almost all the time, I feel exhausted. Although I yawned on and off, I couldn't sleep a wink, no matter how hard I tried. I tossed and turned until my head hurt. I checked the T-phone that Donnie gave me. 8:30. 'The guys would be out on patrol by now.' I grumbled. 'I should be out there with them, not stuck at home in bed.' I smile appears on my face. A pulse of energy starts coursing through me.

Without another thought, I flung the covers off of me and landed softly on the floor. I fumbled through a box of hand-me-downs that April had brought for me, picking a long sleeved black shirt with my leather jacket, a pair of black leggings, and surprisingly a black mask from the bunch. I tied it behind my head, tucking in all of my hair. I also put on a belt that attached to my pack of throwing knives and my bokken. I laced on my studded boots, slipping silently into the hallway and into the tunnels. I grasped the rung of the first ladder I met.

The streetlights blinded me for a moment as I moved the man-hole cover aside and pulled myself up onto the cold concrete. I gazed at the magnificent city, the first I'd seen it since I came to live the turtles. However, the sound of approaching footsteps snapped into moving. I grabbed the rung of a ladder leading to the rooftops, knowing exactly where to look for them.

I leapt from rooftop to rooftop. The first few were a little cumbersome because I'd hardly left my room for the past week so I felt really out of whack. I couldn't even remember the last time I trained, so there was no telling how things would turn out if I got into a fight. I kept running for what felt like hours.

I heard a noise in the alleyway and peered over the edge. Three muscular men surrounded an older man, cornering him against the wall.

'What do you know?' I thought to myself, smiling and eager for a little fun, 'First night on the surface and I get a welcoming committee.'

Sliding down the fire-escape, I threw a few of my knives that just barely missed their heads. They quickly turned in my direction and the old man slipped away onto the street. The long tattoo of a dragon snaked around their arms.

I smirked and held my bokken ready. "Purple Dragons. Last time I checked, this isn't your territory. It's mine!"

They only smiled and laughed. The biggest one stepped towards me, a lead pipe in his hand. "Fancy weapon, little girl," they sneered, "What are ya gonna do, huh? Beat me with a stick?"

I cringed and tightened my grip, speaking in a low voice with my teeth closed. "You wanna see how well it works? Let me show you."

He cracked his knuckled, still smiling at me with an evil grin on his face. His eyes strayed. "Silly girl, I don't want to hurt ya. Your way too pretty."

"Flattering." I said with a look of disgust. "But I want to hurt you. Come and get me!" I snatched a knife from my belt and flung it at him, slicing his cheek. He cried out and the other two ran to him. He growled and touched the wound, looking at his blood-stained fingers and balling his hand into a fist.

"You're going to regret that!" He charged at me with the lead pipe over his head. Right as he brought it down, I ducked to the side and kneed him in the gut. I smacked him in the head with my bokken and he fell to the ground. The other two ran at me with fists, but I knocked the second to the ground with a dragon punch and nailed the third with a roundhouse kick.

I stood up and brushed myself off, grinning in my success. "And I was just getting warmed up,"I murmured. A glimmer of light on the ground caught my attention and I bent down to pick a small white stripe of metal with a insert on the side (like the one you plug into a computer.) I shrugged and slipped into the pouch where I kept my knives. Before I could reach the first rung of the ladder, I heard a familiar voice call out from the rooftop. Immediately, I darted into the shadow of a dumpster as four shadowy figures passed over head. The turtles!

"Well, you were right Raph. I'll give you that." The voice belonged to Leo, looking down into the alley at my handy work. One wrong move, and he'd spot me!

"Awww man! Someone beat us to it!"

"That's weird. Who else would be running around pummeling Purple Dragons?" said Donnie.

"Casey maybe?" asked Leo.

"I already texted him. He told me he had a hockey game. Anyway, it's not usually like him to patrol without us. ," Raph grunted.

"Well, I guess we'd better keep an eye out for any other vigilantes. We should probably call it a night." said Leo. I leaned in close to hear Raph's voice whisper something, but at the same time keep myself hidden.

In a few second they were gone and I could her Leo mutter something to Mikey, but I wasn't close enough to tell what it meant.

'No time to race them home.' I pulled the man-hole cover open and slipped onto the ladder, moving it back into its place. Running like someone was chasing me, I felt relieved when I saw the lights off at the lair entrance. I ripped off my gear and hid it under my bed. Changing into my sweats, I jumped into bed and pulled the duvet over my head, letting myself be drawn into sleep, and the image of those bright green orbs burning in my mind.


	6. Chapter 6 - Trusting him?

Rachel's POV

In the morning, I walked into the kitchen half asleep and my hair like I stuck my finger in an electric socket. It was when I finally rubbed the sleep out of my eyes that I realized that everyone was staring at me wide-eyed.

Mikey was the first to speak. "Morning sleepyhead! Up for some breakfast pizza?" he said, shoving a plate into my hands and taking his spot at the dining table. He gestured to my wild hair. "Whoa! What happened to you? Stay up all hours of the night?"

I yawned. "Something like that." I picked up a slice of pizza and sat in between Donnie and Leo. Donnie looked like he would fall asleep again at any second, getting up several times for coffee. Clearly he had been up at all hours as well. He kept yawning and his face nearly landing on his plate of pizza. I lightly shook his shoulder.

"You okay there Donnie?"

His head snapped up. "Oh, yes. I'm fine Rachel. Just a little tired," smiling with all of his teeth so his gap showed and light blush in his cheeks.

I nodded and turned to Leo. He smiled at me and put his arm around my shoulder. It's only been a week and I've already felt much more comfortable and open around him.

"Morning," he whispered in my ear.

"Morning."

He then released me, took his place beside me, and picked up his own slice of pizza. I looked across the table and giggled at Mikey as he tried to his eat pizza and play a game on his T-phone at the same time. When my eyes strayed to Raph, he looked away and stared at the table. His emerald eyes flashed, with a look that I didn't really understand. I must have been very good at reading emotions before I became 'brain dead.' Usually I would have labeled this as his usual morning attitude. But staring at him, I could see that something was wrong. He grunted and turned his attention back to breakfast. I clenched my fork tightly and didn't take my eyes off of him for the rest of breakfast.

As we headed towards the dojo, I stepped out behind one of the pillars. Mikey bounded ahead of Donnie with Leo behind them. As Raph strolled by, my hand shot out, grabbing him by the back of his shell and pulling him up against the wall, my arm against his plastron. He didn't move and stared at me wide-eyed.

"What the shell are you doing?!"

"I'm tired on secrets and the stalking! And I'm getting the answers out of you, one way or another!"

He struggled against my grip, looking at me with amusement in his eyes. "Your pretty strong for someone your size," he chuckled.

My expression didn't change, but I joined in his game."You want to go toe to toe with me green boy?! And I'll show you how strong I am!"

He smirked at me, which made me press harder. "You don't what you're asking for sweetheart," he warned,"I suggest you let go, or you could wind up with a black eye before you set foot inside the dojo." As he said this, his large hands gripped my arms and squeezed them. I flinched when I felt them touch my skin. I remembered feeling them wrapped around me as he carried me across the rooftop on first night I saw him. They were warm and strong. When you began to struggle in my grip, I pushed the thought aside and pressed even harder to hold him in place.

"What is your problem with me?" I half-yelled at him, but he didn't answer. He just looked away from me. "And don't you dare deny it. I've noticed. Are you that ignorant? You don't have to keep on acting as if I don't exist. If you have a problem with me, you can tell me right here, right now!"

He frowned. Apparently he wasn't intimidated at all, being such a 'small' person compared to him. When I locked eyes with him again, I stopped pressing and just stared at his bright green orbs. "You wouldn't understand," he mumbled under his breath.

At his words, I found my grip again. I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it. "What wouldn't I understand? The reason why you won't speak a word to me?" Right then, I really saw the look in his eyes and I immediately stopped. His face softened and I let him remove my hands from his chest, allowing them to just hang at my sides. "I'm sorry." He didn't let go of them, but his hands slid up my arms, sending a shiver throughout my body and rested them on top of my shoulders. He leaned his face in closer, so close to my face. I leaned in as well, so close that our foreheads were an inch apart.

His eyes began to dart from side to side nervously and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, the other still clutching my shoulder."Um...R-Rachel," he stuttered.

"Yes?"

"Uh...well... I was thinking...Maybe..w-we... should," There was a long pause before he spoke again.

"Yes?" I repeated.

"We-we should...probably... get back to training." He brushed past me and started towards the dojo. "Looking forward to kicking your butt in hand-to-hand."

I stood there dumbfounded, my eyes so wide that they almost popped out of my head! 'Was he about to kiss me? And the way he looked at me. I don't why, but I liked it. Wait do I like him? Do I have feelings for Raph? I don't know what this warm feeling is, but I've never felt this way before about anyone. At least that I can remember. If we are going to start trusting one another, I will have to prove myself worthy of his first. And the only language that Raphael understands is fists. But, how do I know that he feels the same way about me?' I still don't remember much, but I think I just figured out what one of my fears used to be. " _Rejection."_

Short Time Skip

Raph's POV

I didn't look back at her as I walked into the dojo. Not after a slip up like that! I didn't want her to see me like that. I'm such an idiot! I can't even talk to her without stuttering. I still can't shake this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Every time I'm near her, it comes back to life, no matter how many times I've tried to ignore it. It's always there! Do I like her? For real? For some strange reason, I feel that I can trust her. But how will she react? I'm a mutant turtle for crying out loud!

"Yo Raph! You doing okay bro?" Mikey called from across the room.

"Yes! Why do you ask?" I snapped.

" 'Cause your blushin' as red as a strawberry!"

"I am not!" I ignored him, and took my position beside Donnie. Rachel sat beside me, but wouldn't even glance at me. She went up against Mikey first in hand-to-hand.

"Hajime!"

Within seconds, she had him locked in her grasp, smiling at her success. Although beating Mikey isn't that much to be proud of. The true test of strength and skill still stands.

"Uncle uncle!" Mikey pleaded. I couldn't help but smile. She let go of him and he crawled back to his place on all fours.

Donnie was next. I watched her movements closely. Every single one was always mapped out, as if she knew exactly what move he was going to make next. She was always a step ahead of him and Donnie was usually the turtle to have a plan laid out during combat. She always dodged his attacks, making no movement to strike. Gradually, Donnie's strikes became increasingly sloppy. By then, he had absolutely no juice left, and Rachel had him pinned to the floor. 'Let's see who the real champ is.'

Master Splinter motioned for me to go next and we both took our places.

"Don't worry Rach. I'm in a good mood. I'll go easy on you."

She smirked. "What? You don't think I have the stuff, green boy? Don't do me any favors."

Right at the first punch, she ducked and flipped to the side, taking a sweep at my legs. I flipped forward and turned back towards her. She held up both fists and circled, her eyes constantly focused on every move I made. I'd never seen her move that fast before. I went for a roundhouse kick to the face, but she darted right out of range and swung back to right and circled again. Then I understood what she was doing, the same thing she did to Donnie!

She was saving her energy and trying to tire me out first. When I was out of breath. A smart move, but also a flawed move. Two can play at that game! I made no move to strike and only circled her. Growing impatient, she finally threw a dragon punch at my plastron, but I dodged her blow, grabbed her arm, and before she could wrench free, twisted her down towards the floor. But she resisted. Before I could react, I felt my legs get knocked out from under me and my arms pinned down on my shell. When I looked at her face, her eyes were slitted with surprise and satisfaction.

All three of them just stared with their jaws nearly touching the ground, gawking like a bunch of idiots who just laid eyes on the most hot girl that they'd every seen. And they stayed that way for about another . Finally, Mikey lost it, and burst into laughing, followed by Leo and Donnie.

"Dude! You just got owned by a girl!"

"Who's the tough one now?"

I tried so hard to hide the blush of embarrassment forming on my face and turned my head to the side, away from them! It wasn't until Master Splinter called it that she finally got off my shell.

"Thanks for going easy on me Raph." She smirked and patted my plastron. I couldn't help but manage a small smile when she turned her back to me

She bowed to Master Splinter and he dismissed us early. Right before I went out, I felt a hand on my shoulder and long whiskers brush my ear, making me flinch.

"Anata wa rafaeru o dono yō ni kanjiru ka kanojo ni iu hitsuyō ga arimasu. Kanojo no futan anata no tame ni anata no kimochi o kika sete wa ikemasen. Kanojo wa rikai surudearou."

Mini TS

Rachel's POV

Right after we finished training, we all showered off. I went first while Mikey and Rah debated over who got to go first. After I freshened up, I went back to my room. When I looked to my bed, a wrapped package sat on top of my pillow. Whoever wrapped it was clearly in a hurry. A note was attached to leather binding.

" _I'm no really good at writing letters, but I think that there is something you should really know, and I'm willing to tell you_ …. _if you're up to it._ _If you want to know the truth, the real truth, then come to the first manhole on the left of the lair entrance_ _at midnight and_ _meet me on_ _the rooftops. And you'll need this."_

I glanced at the object wrapped in the old towel. After figuring out the complicated knots, my eyes sparkled with excitement at the shining blade, the metal so pure I don't think it had ever been used before. The handle was made of pearl and almost unbelievably light, lighter than my wooden bokken. I smiled at my reflection of my face in the blade, catching the ghost glint of his glittering green eyes beside mine.

'This is the clincher. Now it's my turn.'

 _ **Splinter**_ ~ " _You must tell her how you feel Raphael. Do not let your feelings for her burden you. She will understand." ~_


	7. Chapter 7 - The Truth

Rachel's POV

I couldn't sleep at all. I laid awake in my bed, and every time I heard footsteps in the hall, I shut my eyes should anyone peek in to check on me. And every time I closed my eyes, I saw those emerald eyes that I loved so much burning brightly in head. Whenever there was no one I could hear outside, I reached under the covers and pulled out my T-phone. '11:30' it read. I groaned, and kept counting done the minutes. 11:39, the lights in the living room were turned off. 11:47, the lights in the hall outside my door went out. 11:53, I pulled the covers off of me, pulling on a pair of black jeans with my belt and a long sleeved black shirt. Lastly I slipped my mask on over my head, tucking my blonde braid inside it and lacing on my studded boots.

Reaching under my pile of pillows, my fingers gripped the cool pearl handle and revealed the shining blade. A gift from Raphael. Securing it inside its sheath, I stepped warily into the dark hall, through the living room where the TV was still playing. Keeping in the shadows, I leapt over the turnstiles. As Raph instructed in the note, I climbed the rungs of the ladder leading up to the surface.

I moved the manhole cover back in place and scanned my surroundings for anyone who'd seen me emerge from the sewers. When I saw no one, I reached for the next ladder. I've only been in training for day and it already feels like I'm back on top of my game. I've finally got all my strength back.

Heaving myself up onto the concrete roof, my feet landed on the gravel. But as far as I could see, the roof was completely deserted. I examined every inch of space, but there was no sign of anyone having been here. Not even footprints. I checked the time on my T-phone. 12:03. My enthusiasm began to crumble and the doubt that hung back behind it started to take its place. But I waited. I even used one of my kunai to draw pictures in the gravel. Then I started to wonder, 'Sure Raph. I see the real truth.' Was this his plan all along? To play a crude joke on me? I paced back and forth, checking my T-phone every few minutes. And every time I did, my doubt only grew larger. At 12:17, I finally gathered up my gear. 'Guess your a no-show,' I thought and I put my T-phone away. Right as I stepped onto the edge, a faint sound rang across the rooftops. A sound that well recognized and the corners of my mouth were pulled back in a grin. It was the sound of metal blades.

Mini TS

I leapt onto the next landing. The noise wasn't far off. Just a few rooftops away. Although whatever was happening was very brutal. No doubt that perhaps the foot clan had a run in with the purple dragons that could use a break up. Perfect way to get my mind off of Raph. 'He'll be so sorry he missed out on this. Crushing Purple Dragons and the Foot is what he lives for.'

Just then, the smile playing across my face disappeared. Another noise resounded through the air and it stopped me dead in my tracks. It shot through me like an arrow. My face went white! But my panic quickly turned to fury as another screech pierced the air. It was as if all of my girl hormones were kicked into overdrive and I was out for blood!

I skidded on the gravel of the next roof and my legs stung, but I was nearing the location of the fight and I grabbed the hilt of my katana as I drew closer. In the alley, about three dozen footbots had surrounded the red clad turtle, who was covered in scrapes and bruises and was running out of room very fast!

I grabbed the cold bar of the fire escape and slid down the railing, trying my very best to stick to shadows and praying that they kept me hidden. More than anything, I just wanted to run in and protect him, but not even I could take them all out on my own. Fingering a kunai in my hand, the blade found its way into the back of a footbot's head, which fell to the ground in a patch of purple sparks. Tearing past the fight to the other side of the alleyway, I drew a couple more out of my pouch, turning three more bots into lifeless piles of metal. With a few more knives left, I decided to go about it the old fashioned way. I smirked and grabbed the handle of my katana.

"Hey!" I yelled, and the whole fight paused. The bots turned towards me and I drew my new sword. "Thought I'd even the odds a little."

"Rachel! Wait!" Raph screamed.

Before I let him finished, I already stabbed a bot through the heart in a cloud of sparks. A blade hissed past my ear, but it didn't touch me. Raph hurried over to me, my back against his shell. He had a deep gash on the upper part of his leg, blood running down his leg and I bit my lip to keep from getting sick.

"Well Raph!" I yelled over the pandemonium and blocked another blow, "I must admit, this is quite a turn out for a date night!"

"Who said anything about this being a date?" He grunted.

More footbots became visible! Raph may have been tired out, but I wasn't! We split apart all blades blazing, crushing anything in our paths until they nothing but piles of scrape metal. After surveying the scene, I immediately turned to Raph. Without even thinking about what I was doing, I threw my arms around his neck in an embrace. He cringed at the sudden contact, but he didn't fight it, wrapping his arms around my waist.

When we finally broke apart, I remembered his injury and began examining the gash on his leg.

"It's just a scratch."

"You can't just walk everything off you know." Ignoring his stubborn remark, I ripped a piece of my sleeve off and tied the fabric around the wound. "How do you plan on telling Master Splinter about this when we get home?"

Instead of answering me, he winced when I put pressure on his leg.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah." He wobbles a little as he stands, but he walks over to the ascending ladder with a little limp in his step. "Come with me. There is something I want you to see." Without waiting for me to respond, he grabs my arm, leading me to the top. Instead of making our way back home, he moves toward the ledge and lets his legs dangle over the side, patting the wall for me to sit down next to him. I sat beside him, but gave him a confused look. He just got mugged by an army of foot and he acts as if nothing has happened. Does he always react this way? He just stared aboard the city, and when I looked I understood why.

We didn't say one word to each other for a long while, listening to the sounds of honking of horns and stray dogs barking. The moonlight dimmed against the bright city lights, making the rooftops glow. We sat there together, drinking it all in.

Finally, I work up the courage to say something. "It's so beautiful up here."

"I come up here every night." He says still staring out into space. A smile pursed on his lips. "Listen." I feel the warmth of his hand on mine, his fingers intertwining with mine and a tingling feeling spreading through my body. "There something I need to tell you." I had the sudden feeling again, like his touch ignited a light inside me. I turn towards him and lock eyes with him. Except this time, they seemed different. They weren't filled with ignorance and anger. They looked, 'thoughtful.'

His began to dart around. "Look, I know I've only known you for a little while, but...the thing is...as much as you drive me crazy, I also think you're pretty amazing."

My eyes lit up, staying fixed on his. "I...like you, Rachel." I was shocked! What ever words I had for him just faded and hung on the tip of my tongue. He then let go of my hand looked away, like he was ashamed at what he just said. Without thinking, I reached out my hand and put my hand on his cheek, something that I've wanted so desperately. I forced his eyes to look back at me. He closed his eyes and reached up and placed his hand on mine. He cupped my face with his hand and pulled my face towards his so they were only an inch apart, pulling down the bottom part of my mask down so my mouth showed.

"I like you too Raph-" before I could finish his name, his lips collided with mine. He grips my waist, pulling me closer and kissing me with such passion. Wrapping my arms around his neck and feeling the warmth of his body against mine, I just wanted to melt into him. We stayed that way for several minutes before breaking apart for air.

"Hey, I never apologized for yelling at you yesterday," I whispered, my fingers playing with his bandana tails. "I can sometimes let my anger get in the way. Forgive me?" In response, he smirked and pulled me in for another kiss, our tongues dancing for a moment. We broke apart once more and looked out at the city again, the moon sinking by the hour. I snuggled into his bicep with his arms around me in a safe, protective embrace.

"I love you Rachel," he whispered into my hair.

"I love you too."

Rachel and Raph shared a moment!

But what other dangers await them?

Will Rachel regain her memory?

What will the Foot do, knowing the turtles have a fairly skilled kunoichi as a new ally?

Do the Foot know Rachel's 'secret?'


	8. Chapter 8 - Breakthrough!

Thank you all so much for reading my story! It really means a lot to me! I'm sorry it's taken me a while to update, but I've finally finished it, and it's much longer than all the others I've done! Enjoy, and Comment!

Rachel POV

"My eyes open groggily, feeling the soft mattress beneath me and my brown duvet instead of the cold hard concrete. I don't even remember coming home. Unless Raph carried me. A soft hand gently shakes me awake and I stare up at a pair of emerald green hues.

"Morning sunshine," he whispers, sitting beside me and rubbing my back up and down. I purr loudly and close my eyes to go back to sleep. "Come on. If sleep any longer, you won't wake up until next week," he coaxed.

"Wake me me when we have patrol," I groaned, turning on my side and wrapping myself tightly in the covers.

"Rach, if you don't get up, I'll get you up myself."

"Try me."

Without warning, I feel his fingers digging into my thighs, the one place that I'm extremely ticklish! I burst out laughing and struggling to get away from him.

"Raph! Get off of me!" I yelled.

"Not until you get up!"

"No!"

"Fine then!" He swung his leg over mine and squeezed them together to keep me from escaping his grasp, tickling me harder and I was practically crying for him to stop!

"Alright! Okay! Okay! Just get off of me!"

When he let go, my hand reached for one of my pillows and it hit him smack in the face!

"Ow! How in the world do you make a pillow hurt?"

"My exceptional strength." I bragged. "If you don't hurry up, then you can explain to master Splinter why your late to training and YOU can do 50 flips for being late." I gave up and slipped into a plain black tank and some dark red shorts with my hair in the sloppy braid I slept in. I step into the hall where Raph was waiting for me and we walk hand in hand to the dojo. Everyone was already in their places with Master Splinter at the head. I must have slept through breakfast. They all turned in our direction when we came into the circle. Right as they did, Raph released my hand and I hid mine behind my back. Donnie scooted over so that I could sit beside him and Raph sat on my left.

"Today we will not be sparring." I could hear Raph let out a groan. "The ninja's most powerful weapon comes not of the body, but of the mind." Laying aside his walking stick, he sat in a meditative position and motioned for us to do the same. The posture was a little hard, but I managed to sit still without wobbling. "Reach inside yourselves. Focus on the energy flowing in and out. Concentrate hard."

I tried to follow his instruction, squeezing my eyes closed and trying to focus. Opening one eye I glanced at the others. Leo looked as if this excersize was old school, the bright blue aura about him glowing brighter by the second. Donnie was in a meditative state, but his aura not as bright as Leo's.

"Concentrate Rachel!" Splinter's voice made me straighten my posture and shut my eyes again. Counting the minutes, I was finally able to keep my breathing steady, concentrating very hard. A strange warm feeling creeping up my spine, like soft fingers tracing my back and before was a black nothingness.

Out of the darkness, a small green light illuminated a winding path that was clear as glass. Tiny silver stars blinked in and out above my head and below my feet, which seemed to be standing on nothing but air. Daring to take a step forward on the clear silver path, the light shone brighter. Voices echoed throughout the vast ocean of stars, calling out from behind me, yelling my name, but the darkness returned and seemed to drown out any sound as I walked into the light, reaching out to touch it.

Raph's POV

The silence was shattered by a gasp. Right then, I snapped out of it and looked at her. Her aura was several times brighter than Master Splinter's, a little white light illuminating from the edges of her closed eye-lids. The guys had gathered around her, Master Splinter laid his hands on her shoulders.

"Master Splinter, what's wrong with her?!"

"She is in a deep trance." He replied without opening his eyes and worry written on his face, something that frightened even me. "Nothing I have ever felt before. Yet, it may prove useful."

"What do you mean?"

"How do we get her out of it?" Leo asked, concern in his voice.

"Rachel! Wake up!" Mikey cried, who had been sitting silently trying to process everything going on and finally snapped, grabbed Rachel by the shoulders and started shaking her. "Wake up, Rachel!"

"Mikey!" I unwrapped his arms. Although, I don't deny it had occurred to me to try waking her up myself, but how?

"How do we get her out Master Splinter?" I was on the verge of panicking.

"We cannot force her out of it. I will try to reach her, but she will only come out on her own accord. All we can do now is wait."

Rachel's POV

The light dimmed and I was standing alone in the darkness again. A glint of white shimmered in the dark on my right, revealing a closed door made of hard stone. With the expectation of it being locked, it opened quite easily. A girl in a red T-shirt and jeans ran over a carpet of green grass outside of a little house with a brown roof and red shudders, a man that I suspected to be her father chased her in circles, the girl giggling happily the entire time until they tumbled into one another and lay looking up at the fast moving clouds.

Then the green swallowed the blissful picture, the green grass now a dead brown and the lawn furniture stacked up. Inside the cracked windows, the counters and rooms had been stripped of everything and packed in boxes. The picture shifted again to the same girl but much older, sitting in the sill of her room and her belongings already packed and lying in another corner. The girl had the same dark red hair as me and the same short stature. But her eyes! They couldn't be mine. Unlike mine, hers were sad and broken. Should couldn't be me at all just a look alike.

Something sticks out of the duffle in the corner. Something familiar. Rummaging through the contents, I pull it out, but just the sight of it makes me drop it onto the floor. A smooth brown bokken with the initials R.H. carved into the handle.

"Rachel Hood." I murmured. A searing pain strikes my head like a bullet, spreading through my entire body and a horrible sound ringing in my ears. I crumple to the floor, holding my head in my hands. The boards snap under my weight. I scream for help, flailing my arms and searching for anything to grab onto. The darkness returns and a little light shines at its end, but it glows red instead of green. The same voices call my name again. With out hesitating, I follow them.

Opening my eyes, the stinging light makes me shut them again. The familiar scent of garbage and sewer water wafts across my nostrils. Tears stain my eyes.

"Rachel!"

A red blur with two emerald hues is beside me.

"Rachel, what happened. Are you okay?" Four more pairs of eyes joined the circle.

"Rachel. Are. You. Alright?" said the blue-masked turtle, making his voice slow and distinct. I nodded.

"Rachel, please!" Raph practically pleaded. "Say something!"

A grin grew on my face. "Is training over yet?"

They all laughed. Mikey tackled me in a fierce hug, squeezing the life out of me. Leo and Don joined us, wrapping their arms around us. And last, Raph hesitantly joined in the group hug. Hotheaded pride. Too afraid his soft side. I now he has one.

"Rachel." Master Splinter stepped in and we broke apart. "I am glad to see that you are alright. But you must tell us what happened."

"Well..." I started, but trailed off trying to recount the event that occurred "It's hard to describe. There were pictures of things a long time ago."

Short time skip ('Cause I'm really lazy)

"What do you make of it Master Splinter?" I asked the guys listening eagerly without interruption. Even Mikey was completely silent.

"I do not know Rachel. You possess a very unique energy, nothing I have ever seen before. I believe that girl you spoke of was indeed you."

"Your starting to remember Rachel!" Donnie cried and took my hands in his, a tingle of warmth spreading from my fingertips. Their skin feels so strange, completely different from a human's. Strong and a little rough, but gentle. "Your finally remembering." When he looked and saw what he was doing, he blushed as red a Raph's mask and let go of them, scratching the back of his neck in an awkward way. "I'd like to run some more tests. If that's alright with you."

I felt a little tense about him approaching me with needles, but if this was the way of discovering the links to my past, then I'd bite my lip and do it. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"Wait!" Master Splinter interjected. "We do not yet know the extent of your condition. Perhaps we should study it further before we draw conclusions to finding a solution."

"Don't worry Sensei. We'll be careful." Donnie reassured him, with a shred of doubt in his voice. "C'mon. Let's get to the lab."

Hold very still Rach." Donnie instructed, holding a strange cold device against my head. The rest of the guys watched intently at the procedure, Raph in particular studied Donnie's every move. I did as I was told and he momentarily took it and examined the results on a little screen. He didn't say anything, he just squinted at the pictures. After analyzing for a few minutes, he let a small gasp, enough to make me start shaking.

"What was it?" I asked. The first time he didn't answer because he was so deep in thought, tapping his chin as his eyes darted this way and that across the screen.

"Hmm. Interesting. It seems that whatever serum the Kraang injected into you, it's active inside your brain and working inwards. It's fascinating!"

"Umm, what does that mean exactly? Something is alive inside of my head?" I didn't know whether to be terrified or astounded.

Plugging the device into his computer, he tapped in several random keys before pressing enter, a visual of what appeared to be my brain with different portions flashing red.

"What does that mean?" I pointed to the blinking pictures.

"From what I can tell from these tests, the serum infiltrated your cerebral cortex with a virus that submerged your basal ganglia system and striatum inside of an artificial stasis field-"

"In English brainiac?" Raph grunted.

"The a portion of her prefrontal cortex and her temporal lobe is encased in a locking generator, creating a barrier-

"Not englishy enough." Mikey interrupted.

Donnie shot him an annoyed look. "The serum injected into her brain acts as a lockdown on her memories." He turned to face me, a serious expression growing on his face. "In simple scientific terms, the part of her brain that's meant to function in retaining long term memories and memory retrieval has been rendered completely inoperative."

"Wait, so my memories are still there?"

"Correct."

"So I did forget any of my background or past at all!"

"Whoa, hold up," Leo cut in, "If her brain is in stasis, then how can she know us or remember those fighting techniques that she performed in training?"

"Back in the Kraang lab, when we first found her, the process of administering the serum was already started. I hacked the machine and shut down right in the middle of it. My theory is that I stopped it before full potency went into effect, therefore only part of her brain was effected. The portions like her cerebellum, putamen nucleus, or motor cortex where procedural memories are stored." He took a deep breath when he all stared at him with blank faces. "Procedural memories are basically knowing simple things like using a phone, riding a bike, or eating with a spoon. They're also related to aggression, emotions, or even body coordinations. She still remembers her training because that memory was never touched, but her past, her heredity, and her background is closed." We all nodded our heads in understanding.

Raph scowled. "Great science lesson Donnie. Now how does she get her memories out of this 'stasis' thing?"

"That's the thing. I'll need more tests..." He scratched his head, fumbling for a valid explanation. He punched in a few more keys on his computer, making the picture shift to another perspective. He pointed to a tiny little dot in the lower part of my brain. "Inside of the serum is a little device. It's basically a microscopic fail-safe to keep you from retrieving your memories."

"How?"

"That's why you had that horrible pain in your head. When your made an attempt to retrieve the memory you observed, it triggered the fail-safe. It sends a shock wave through your head and turns the brain's central goal away from your memories and directing it somewhere else. And removing it is the only way for you to find your memories.

"Well, you can get it out, can't you Don?" I looked hopefully at him, waiting for his response.

He looked at me with sadness in his eyes. "Thing is...I..I don't...really know."

His words cut the through the air like an arrow! I turned away and stared at my shoes, suppressing the tears welling up in my eyes that threatened to fall at any minute. My family might be gone forever! And my only way home!

When I looked up, four pairs of eyes were transfixed on me with shocked expressions.

"What's wrong? Why are you all staring at me like that?"

Leo spoke first, his voice shaking only slightly. "Rachel... your eyes. They're white!"

The floor began to spin, a flash of red dashed to my side, and everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9 - Taking Risks

"What do you mean I can't go?!" I whined, "I've missed out on every patrol you've been on since I got here! I can handle myself perfectly fine!" And I had. Not once have I had the chance to go out on patrol with them since I healed. And I wasn't planning on missing one more. One more night of staying grounded in the sewers was unthinkable. Ever since Donnie discovered the Kraang stasis generator in my head, they act as if I'm not capable of taking care of myself.

"Rachel, until you're ready, you're not going with us!" said Leo, strapping on his belt and placing his twin katanas in their holsters, scolding me like I was his child.

But I wasn't intimidated. I crossed my arms and stood my ground. "And who says I'm not?"

"I say." said he replied cooly, "Until Donnie has removed that stasis generator, it's unsafe for her to be on the surface.

Raph stepped up to his brother. "C'mon Leo. Let her tag along. She'll be fine as long as she's with us."

"Not gonna happen."

I still didn't budge."It's unsafe for any of you to be on the surface as well. I'm not a helpless little girl. I'm a top notch fighter who happens to have the ability to take care myself just fine. I'm coming!"

Leo hung his head and sighed. He laid his hand on my shoulder. "You're not helpless Rachel. And you are an excellent fighter, but we need you here."

"To do what? Just sit around and watch TV until you come back? You don't trust me, do you?"

"Don't think that. For now, you have to stay here. But we'll be back. We do trust you. Right now, I trust you to stay and be ready when we come back."

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if you actually do," I murmured, shrugging his hand off.

With a sad look in his eyes, he turned tail and leapt over the turnstiles with Donnie and Mikey trailing behind. It was just me and Raph. When they were out of sight, he folded me into his arms and then planted a light kiss on my forehead.

"I trust you Rachel. I promise, we'll be fine." With that, he left me standing at the columns to catch up with his brothers.

Great! Just great! I have to sit around and do absolutely nothing while they're out busting footbots. I then headed into the dojo with nothing else to do. Digging my fingers into the trunk, I climbed up the tree and sat on a high branch. The cool soothing night air seeps through the grate in the ceiling creating a small breeze in the leaves above my head and nipping at my toes as I swung them back and forth. It was really dark, but quiet and peaceful. Just the way I like it. As upset as I was about missing patrol, this is the only place where I can breathe without the guys worrying about every little thing. Just because of the fact that I 'supposedly' have some gift when I meditate and a freaky active Kraang serum active inside my head was enough to make them almost never let me leave their sight. Here, it's just me. Me, and my thoughts.

The icy wind makes shiver, hugging my knees to my chest. A tiny shard of light makes it's way across the room and creeps it's way up the opposite wall. I immediately scrambled higher into the thick foliage, expecting it to be Leo coming back to check and make sure I'm still here. The very last thing I needed from him is his lecturing. Can I go no where without them babysitting me? Not that I didn't appreciate their concern. As much a big brother Leo is to me, I can't stand him looking over my shoulder every few minutes or being purposely sloppy during training so that I easily win.

"Rachel? Are you here?"

Listening curiously, I peeked out of the leaves to catch a brief glimpse of the interloper.

"It's just me. I want to see you."

"April." I slink down the trunk until my feet land onto the carpet floor.

The redhead grinned when I stepped out of the shadows and flicked on the light. She seemed to almost always have a smile on her face.

"Hey. How are you?"

"Good I guess," I muttered, "How'd you know I'd be here."

She crossed her arms over chest, smiling like she was seeing right into my head, which she probably was. "Cause I know what it feels like to have someone breathing down your neck all the time about your safety. Even if they are just being concerned."

I smiled back at her. "Can't get a thing past you April. But at least you have your dad though."

"Yeah."

"...And Donnie," I added under my breathe. But right then, I wish I hadn't said it.

Her face quickly turned the color of Raph's mask. "Yeah, I guess." She said, her eyes darting this way and that. "If you like that smart, scientific genius type. He's a great friend."

"C'mon, I've seen you two together. Admit it! You like him, don't you?"

Her face grew redder and her eyes were flying franticly all over the place.

"I knew it! You do like him!"

She took a deep breathe, but she was smiling from ear to ear. "Yes! I do!"

"I knew it! You should tell him"

She eyed me suspiciously. "Mhmm. Like you did the same thing with a certain mutant turtle named Raphael?"

I froze, my mouth half open and whatever words I had planned to say just disappeared. Hopefully, I wasn't blushing. If she found out and told everyone, I'd never hear the end of it from Raph and I of all people knew that he couldn't stand being ridiculed by his brothers. I didn't need to fuel that fire.

"Where'd you hear something like that?" I asked in the most nonchalant way possible. She cocked an eyebrow at me, giving me that 'I know you're lying. Just admit it' look. I could feel the heat rising into my cheeks. I WAS blushing!

"Seriously! Friends. Just friends."

April shrugged. "If you say so. Anyway, enough boy talk. How about some training?"

I grinned mockingly at her. "I don't know. You sure you can handle it?"

She smirked with her tessen clenched in her fist. "Bring it on!"

We trained for hours until we were out of breath. At the end we bowed to each other.

"You've got some skills April," I said, placing my bokken back on the wall pegs and securing my pack of throwing knives on my belt. The extra-large black sweatshirt I was wearing over my navy blue tank top, concealed completely.

"Thanks! You do too. Exactly how long have you been training yourself?"

"I remember..I think…I trained around 5 years."

"Well, you certainly have the skills of a kunoichi." She grinned and we walked out into the pit, where a young teenage boy about the same age as April was lounging on a bean bag with a piece of pizza in his hand and his eyes on the TV. He had long black hair with a black bandana tied around it and spray paint stained cut-off sweatshirt, all topped off with ripped jeans, black converse, and a sly grin with his .

He turned in our direction when we walked out, jumping up from his seat and walking over to meet us.

"Hey Red! What's up? The guys aren't here. They left about…" his voice trailed when his eyes fell on me. He gave me an intrigued look.

"Woah April...Who's the babe?" he asked in a loud whisper.

"Babe!?" I repeated, as if to make clear that I'd heard him.

April jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "Cut it out Casey. This is Rachel."

"So, you're Rachel huh? We never actually met. I like what I'm seeing though. Where ya from?"

I scowled and crossed my arms. "Obviously anywhere other than the planet you live on. Wait, how do you know me?"

"Oh, just a guess. You look like a Rachel."

"I look like-" but April cut in.

"Casey, why don't we go out for some pizza or something? She really has her heart set on getting her head out of the sewers."

He bounded over to where he was sitting and grabbed a gym bag with an assortment of hockey sticks. "Not a bad idea. Hey, I need get some practice in for my next game. We can stop by the rink for a while. Ever been ice skatin' Rach?

I tapped the side of my head. "If the guys ever mentioned me to you, did they cover the fact I can't remember a single thing? And besides, I can't. Leo specifically asked me to stay here and wait for them to come back."

"Leo ain't the boss of you."

"Real Mature. But I'm pretty sure that I don't want to get an earful from him about how distrustful I am."

"Suit yourself." he said, as he and April walked towards the turnstiles. As mush as I wanted to prove to Leo that he could trust me, I could use a breather from being in the sewers all the time. Beside, I could quickly be back in time before he and the guys get back.

I let out a deep sigh."Hold up. I'll come with ya."

We walked down the tunnels with April in the lead and he hung back walking right beside me. I can tell what he's thinking, but I pretend to ignore him.

He leaned in close to my face, the corners of his mouth pulled back in a huge smile, showing the huge gape in his teeth. This guy is terrible at flirting. When was the last time he'd brushed his teeth or even eaten a breath mint?

"Raph talks a lot about you. You know, if things between you two don't work out, maybe we could

do something...together sometime?"and winked he at me.

I felt like punching him right there and now. But I let my fist fall and I took a deep breathe."Great." I said smiling, "How about I start with smacking that smug grin off your face?" I punched him lightly in the shoulder and walked faster to catch up with April.

"Geez!" I whispered, "How do you put up with him?"

"Eh, you get used to it. It's usually Raph's job to keep him in line."

"Suddenly I feel really bad for him." We both laughed as we emerged from the sewers and climbed onto the cold floor of the alleyway. I breathed in the fresh night air, which was very relieving after the strong stench of the sewer being stuck in my noise for the longest time. After about fifteen minutes of walking, we arrived at Antonio's and walked out with two boxes of pizza. It shouldn't be a surprise that Casey has a bottomless pit for a stomach. But still, he didn't have to eat an entire pizza and leave the other for me and April to share.

Then we strolled over to the rink. Casey tossed me and April a pair of skates, but as soon as I set foot on the ice, my legs gave way and I landed flat on my back, banging my head against the floor. As I sat up rubbing my head, Casey was flying towards me really fast but skidded to a stop right in front of me, kicking up shreds of ice.

He offered me his hand. "Having trouble?" I took his hand, but I quickly let go.

"I meant to do that." Not really a valid statement, but I tried. "I'm doing fine." Moving my foot forward, my skate slipped and was about to take another hit to the floor. I braced myself for the impact, but it didn't come. Casey caught me by the arms.

"Woah. Steady there," he said, hoisting me back onto my feet. "You keep forcing it like that, you'll end up with your butt on the ice that entire time."

I snorted and tried again, but my feet still felt uneasy and I felt him grab the upper part of my waist to steady me. His fingers slightly brushed the bare skin just below my tank top, which made me shiver.

"Here." He gestured to his own skate and showed me the proper way to do it. "Try it like this."

I started out slow, but I slowly picked up speed. April didn't seem to be getting that well either. Soon, I found myself racing Casey back and forth across the rink. Finally we collapsed from exhaustion and turned the skates back in.

"Wow! That was awesome!"

"Told you you'd like it, Rach." April chuckled.

I turned to face Casey. "And Jones...thanks for such a great time."

I grinned at me."No problem Rach."

"Well, I'd better get back to the lair before the guys notice I'm gone."

"Oh, it's a little late for that," said a low voice from the alley behind us. A red-masked, steaming, and not so calm mutant turtle appeared out of the shadows. My heart rose to my throat as he approached us with his arms over his chest, towering over me.

"Oh, hey Raph." I managed in say in a calm tone, trying to keep it from shaking. "What are you doing here? Thought you were supposed to be on patrol with everyone else."

"And I thought you were supposed to stay at home!" I didn't like this side of Raph. He had a dangerous look in his eyes. And it scared me. This was the kind of look he gave Mikey after messing with his comics, but he never gave it to me.

"Raph let me explain-"

"Of all the simplest things that Leo asked of you, you couldn't even follow that! We were worried sick over the fact that you were gone. Heck, for all we knew, we thought that the Kraang got you again! How can we trust you if you don't listen to us!?"

His venomous words made my blood boil. April made a dangerous move and stepped between me and him. "Raph cool off. We encouraged her to come with us-"

"Stay out of this April!" Raph snapped. I held my hand up and motioned for her to back away, which she did.

As much as was angry at his reaction, I made myself look unintimidated, which seemed to make him angrier.

"We told you to stay at the lair, and you can't even do that! We are going home now!" With that, he snatched me by the wrist and tugged me toward the alley.

Finally, I snapped and wrenched my hand out of his grasp! "You know what Raph, I tired of being babied and bossed around as if I'm completely defenseless! I can't even move around the lair without someone's eyes always on me! I can handle myself perfectly fine on my own!"

"Well if you can handle yourself, why don't you just live somewhere else?! You don't need us and we don't need someone endangering us and our home!"

The back of his hand smacked into my face. I turned back to him, my anger replaced by hurt, my fists dropped and my eyes welled up with tears, but didn't fall. Right when the words exited his mouth, his eyes softened and his face returned to normal, but his words were already out. He looked down at his large green hands where it began to turn red from the hit to my face. He looked at them and then at me as if to try and comprehend all of what just happened. He looked at me sympathetically, but when he took a step towards me, I began to back away.

"Rachel...I...I'm sorry...I" his hand reached out to touch the red spot on my face, but I slapped it away angrily.

"I don't want to hear it Raph," my voice cracked and a sob escaped my mouth as backed out of the circle and sprinted across the street into the maze of alleys. I ran blindly through the streets, ignoring the angry voices of the people I pushed past on the sidewalks, trying to lose them in the crowd until I came to a dead end alleyway. Without hesitation, I snatched the rung of the ladder.

Heaving myself up, I sat on the cement wall, looking abroad the city. The sky was black and the lights were so bright, the stars weren't visible.'We don't need someone endangering us and our home. Why don't you live somewhere else.' I kept running through the scene in my mind over and over again and the tears that didn't fall earlier flowed freely. I laid on my back with my face turned up towards the night sky and cried. I touched the spot on my cheek where he'd hit it. _I know that's what happens to Raph when he's angry, but he'd never been angry with me before. Never! Now I understood how Mikey feels when Raph blows up at him. Now he thinks I'm a threat to their home. Whatever. I can probably find somewhere else. But what about the others? They didn't do anything. What would they think? At the moment, I don't feel like going back. I don't want to be anywhere._

I shivered as the wind swept around my legs, but the faint sound of a foot on the cement was enough to make me sit bolt upright. The roof looked perfectly the same, but I felt a presence.

"Raph I'm not coming back right now," I called. No answer. "I'll listen to what you have to say, but only if you just come out of-" A hand clamped over my mouth, an old rag stuffed into my mouth and blindfold tied around my head. I screamed against the cloth and fought several pairs of hands that held me down. But my attempts were in vain.

"You'll listen whether you want to or not," said a deep surly voice beside my ear. I kept flailing my arms and fighting, but another cloth was held against my mouth, but it was damp with something soaked into it. I fought harder, holding my breath, but the drug seeped into my nose and mouth...I couldn't feel...anything.

The last thing I heard was, "Master, we've got the girl."

Raph's POV

I jumped down the ladder into the sewer so fast that I almost lost my balance once I landed on the ground. I made a beeline for the lair with Apri and Casey following close behind.

In a few minutes, the lights were in view just ahead.

"Leo, Mikey, Donnie!"

All three of them came running up to meet me.

"Whoa dude!" Mikey rushed over to me. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Rachel! She's….gone!" I stammered between breaths.

"Duh!" Mikey chuckled. "We knew that like half an hour ago."

"Well, I found her."

"Well, where is she!?" Leo demanded.

"She was at the rink with Casey and April. But she's gone now."

Leo gave me a serious look. "Is that all you have to say, Raphael?"

I sighed. "No, I got mad at her and...I...I h-hit her. And she ran off into the streets. I don't know where she is."

Donnie and Mikey exchanged worried looks. Leo stared me hard in the face. "Raph, where did you last see her and how long has she been gone?!"

"Housten Rd by the ice rink about ten minutes ago."

"Come on! She could' have gotten far!"

But Leo held up his hand to me. "You stay here Raph, just in case she comes."

"Oh, no! I'm coming with."

"No you're not. Besides, of all people she's not going to want to see you." That part was true. I groaned and nodded to him.

"Um Leo, I don't know how to say this."

"What is it Donnie?"

"Well, theres's good news and bad news."

"Spill it!"

"I've got her coordinates. That's the goods news."

"...But?"

"The bad news is...she's in Shredder's Lair."


	10. Chapter 10 - Lab Rats

Rachel's POV

When I opened my eyes again, blinding white lights force them shut again. I groan and rub the remains sleep out of them, but the movement sparks a familiar numb sensation and spreads through my body. My limbs suddenly feel cold and heavy. I seemed to be lying on the concrete floor of some kind of cell, my back against a wall. Four white lights hanging from the ceiling are all focused on me. _How did I get here? Just minute ago I was lying on the roof._ A flash of bright red comes to mind. _Raph! He hit me! Then I ran and climbed onto the roof. Then...the Foot...came. The Foot!_

Horrible terrifying thoughts fill my head and almost at once, panic seizes me! Staggering onto my feet like a newborn foal, I take several strides forward away from the wall, but I don't get very far before I'm jerked back by all four limbs and at my neck! Bolted to the wall that I'd been leaning against, a chain connects to a thick collar around my neck! My hands and feet were bound with chains as well! I tugged at them, but the movement only made my heavy arms and legs even more tired and soon gave up. Fumbling through my pockets, I searched for my T-phone. Only then did I realize that I wasn't wearing my black sweater shirt and ripped jeans anymore. I was dressed in a grey worn tank top and extremely short grey shorts. No shoes. But I can't fall asleep. I lay against the wall, rubbing the skin under my shackles. Guilt found its way into my mind. ' _I wonder how long I've been here. I'll bet the guys are searching all over the city for me. All of this trouble all because of me. I wonder what Raph's thinking. Punching the life out of the practice dummy no doubt. All because I didn't listen to Leo's instruction. They trusted me! Raph trusted me! And because of my pride, I let my own desires get in the way and let Jones get under my skin. I should have been smarter than that!_ ' The lights above my head dwindle and flicker, the first movement I'd seen in hours. Curling into a ball, I tucked my head down against my chest as best I could.

The sinister creak of a door opening turns my gaze up toward the other end of my prison. The room I was in was relatively long, but the chains would only allowed me to move so far. And at the end of the room was a tall slab of stone and a face appeared right behind it. A girl's face. Closing the door behind her, she just stood there eyeing me with her hands on her hips. She had black hair, most of it styled up on top of her head. She was dressed in a black Foot uniform, her arms decorated with long razor blades. Her dark reddish-brown eyes were lined with thick black eyeliner, red make-up that trailed up towards her eyebrows, and the corners of her red mouth pulled back in a smirk that made me draw back into the corner.

"About time you woke up!"

She strode casually toward me. The closer she came, the more I wanted to melt into the wall. Then I remembered Master Splinter's words. ' _I can't show fear!' I told myself._ When she was just a few strides away, I stood up and stepped as close as the chains would allow to meet her. I wasn't afraid of her, but I still wanted to keep my distance. A common thing anyone would remember if they had limited moving space and a stranger before them that had more advantage than them. And to top it off, I was the one in chains.

"You must be terrified," she whispered mockingly.

I scowled and crossed my arms. "Hardly. It isn't the first time."

"So...you're the one that the Kraang are hunting. And here I thought you'd be much more of a challenge to find since you've been able to slip past their nets for so long."

"If you've come all the way down here just to tell me how pathetic and worthless I am, then you're wasting your time."

Before I even blinked, I felt a hard smack hit me square in the face, causing me to stumble back and she held her katana against my throat, the other hand gripping the back of my neck. An evil grin grew on her face as she drew very close to mine.

"Don't be a fool! I would have slit your throat hours ago without so much trouble if you were not even remotely useful to our cause." She drew even closer to my face. If her intention was to intimidate me, it still wasn't working. "Since the Kraang need you so much, they would give anything to have you handed to them. In addition, we have reason to believe that you're friends with the turtles. All the more reason to use you as bait."

I continued to scowl at her. "Seems like your style Karai. Just like the other hundred times you tried to use April as bait for them."

Growling viciously, I hissed as she pressed the cold metal closer to my neck so it began to sink into my skin, but a gruff voice with a brazilian accent stopped her.

"If I were you Karai, I would not damage Stockman's fresh new test subject anymore, unless you wish to hear about it from Master Shredder." Out from the shadow of the doorway stepped a….a fish?! A tall fish with dark pinkish skin, needle-like sharp teeth, and metal robotic legs approached us, followed by several more foot ninja, a few carrying long sticks with clamps on the ends. A chill ran down my spine at the words "test subject." Horrible memories of the Kraang's cruelty in their lab flashed in my head again, causing me to lash out at the excruciating pain in my head and gripped it with both hands. After experiencing it first hand, I had no interest whatsoever in becoming a lab rat a second time.

Karai said nothing to me. She was clearly angered by Xever's 'rude' interruption, but obediently backed away from me and sheathed her katana, her red eyes fixed on me all the while. If looks could kill, I would already be dead!

"Secure the test subject," Xever ordered. The footbots blindly did as he said and advanced toward me. I immediately recoiled and held up my arms in a threatening position. _I had to get out of here! I wouldn't be another test subject! I wouldn't!_ I struggled against my bonds as if my strength would tear them from the wall! More ninja grabbed me by the arms and legs while the other's unbolted my chains from the wall. The ones with the sticks came closer. With a beep, the clamps locked onto the collar around my neck!

They pressed me towards the door, Xever and Karai taking the lead. I gritted my teeth and ground my feet into the stone to stop myself from walking any further, but my meaningless attempts proved futile. I fought as hard as I could against the bonds, but all I did was rub the skin raw. My eyes fixed at the ground, I walked.

If I was going to escape, I had to memorize where I was and where an accessible escape route would be possible. There were no windows visible, but several doors. I counted seven as we walked to a long row of pillars. After we passed them, we moved on to another set of doors. This room was enormous! It was round with different cages built into the walls all the way to the dome at the top. In the very center, a large round tank of some sort of ominous green glowing substance hung from the ceiling. And below it was over a million dials and gauges where man with buzzing wings and an ugly fly's face flew back and forth, punching in keys at random. He turned his gaze away from a beaker of cerulean liquid and flew to meet us as we entered, a look of utter pleasure when his eyes landed on me.

"Ah, Mizzzzz Rachel. Suczzh a pleasure to finally meet you. You szzzzzould be honored to be playing a very important role in one of the moszzzzzt brilliant experimentszzzz in human history!"

I didn't say anything. I simply frowned and shot him a glare. He ignored me and then turned to my captors.

"Tie her down there," he said, gesturing to a long white table with shackles and another table beside it laid out with different neatly arranged syringes! A sight that made me skin-crawl! I lashed out, trying to punch the soldiers that held me! Something was slammed into my head, making me really dizzy! A searing pain spread through me!

"Careful! Don't beat her up too muczzh!" Baxter retorted.

I felt paralyzed, because I couldn't feel anything except for the cold metal of the dissection table. When my eye caught the glint of syringe in Baxter's hand, I jostled the restraints! He walked towards me in such a nonchalant way, as if this was a regular routine, which it probably was to him. The closer he came, the more I fought!

"Hold szzztill!" he instructed irritably and brought the needle closer to my neck!

"Let me go!" I didn't care how much the metal dug into my flesh! "Let. Me. Go!"

With a great huff, he stabbed the syringe into my neck! An earsplitting screech pierced the air! I screamed at the painful sensation with a ferocity I'd never known before as if was the only thing that would save me from it! But it only lasted a second, but my vision started to fog up!

Baxter laughed at my reaction, and pressed one of the dials on the control panel beside him. Two large metal doors in the floor slid to the sides, and rising from it was a very large tank of clear water, close to about twelve feet deep. Switching on another gauge, the table that I was attached to started to move up, hovering over the tank. Slowly, the table edged closer to the water below! Adrenaline shot into my veins like the bullet from a gun and I fought as hard as I could against the metal confining me! They were going to drown me! I was going to die! A million thoughts flooded my brain! I would never know my parents or my past! I would never see my sensei or the guys again! Worst of all I'd never see Raphael again! I had to get out NOW! With a last try, I wrenched my arms away from the table, the cuffs coming with them!

Whatever drug had been injected into me obscured my vision, but I heard several gasps from beneath me, including Baxter! He then yelled orders to the soldiers to secure me again! Still recovering from the shock of what I had just done, I began to fall forward, but my legs were still clamped to the table, my entire body dangling dangerously above the water with my fingertips almost touching it! With my hands free, I reached up and grabbed the shackles on my legs, but my arms were wrenched free of them as more hands grasped me! Several large heavy chain were draped over my front to prevent me from moving. I fought against it, but these were far stronger and my body was completely immobile!

"Faszzzzcinating. When driven to fight as hard azzz you can, your szzzztrength is at it'szz peak! We'll szzzee if I can amplify it! Szzzome mutagenic chemical booszzt szzhould do the trick," he cackled as he prepared another syringe, and then turned back to his collections of buttons, pressing one that read "down." Or at least I think it said that because I couldn't really see. "But firszzt...Let uszzz teszzt your reszzzpiratory capaczzzity!"

The table began to more once more! I struggle the chains again, but my energy had almost expired! Pleading would just be amusement to them. It's just the sort of thing they'd expect from me, but I wouldn't give it to them. I counted the seconds and my feet dipped into the water! 5! The water was nearly up to my midriff! Karai smirked wickedly at me and if there was anything kindness or goodness in her at all, it would be buried deep inside of her, under her malicious dishonorable exterior. 4! Xever wrung his hands together, fingering a switchblade and pretended to slit his own throat as he watched the water rise to my shoulders. 3! Baxter's enormous bug eyes watched intently as I sank deeper! 2! The images blurred, but the only picture I could make out was two emerald hues surrounded by a bright red mask. I felt the gentle caress of his hand on my cheek. The softness of his lips against mine. 1! His voice begging me to stay with him, clutching my hand to keep me from slipping away as I took what I thought would be my last breath. Until only silence and darkness remained.

DUN DUN DUN! Cliffhanger! :)

What will happen to Rachel?

What plans does Baxter Stockman have in store for her?

Will the guys save her in time?

Please comment!


	11. Chapter 11a - Incisions and Infiltration

Bubbles of air rise above my head, squirming like tiny jellyfish as they rose. Water. All around me. It's so warm. I can't remember the last time I felt so warm and my limbs so light as if I was hanging in the air. If this is death it isn't so bad. It felt strange though. The warmth around me is artificial. Not the kind of warmth that felt so tranquil and serene, like Raphael's gentle caress and reassuring words. The warmth of his body against mine.

'What is this place? Am I dead?'

"Not quite. Juszzt a little teszzt."

"Stockman?!" I called, "Where am I?! Let me out of here!"

"...Maybe,"he laughed. "We szzzhall szzee."

"Where did you bring me, Buzzkill?! Show yourself! Let me out of here!" No answer. "Baxter?!" Again, no answer.

Suddenly I'm plunged into darkness! Not the kind of peaceful, comforting darkness of the dojo. Cold black, bitter nothingness. My feet find the floor again, but the dark was so thick I had to feel through it with my hands. 'Baxter, if I ever get out of here, I swear..." A flash stung my eyes and I saw Master Splinter, meditating in the dojo?! 'Master Splinter!' I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck. But I didn't feel anything. The moment I touched him, my fingers went threw him. And he didn't move. Moving my hand back and forth, my hand easily passed through him like a projected image.

The rugs on the floor turned brown, a mist sprung from the ground, the lit candles around him were snuffed out by a sudden gust. Another flash. Taking a step forward, I found myself falling as if I'd stepped off a cliff, landing face-first on cold concrete. But it didn't hurt. 'This can't be real. This can't be real!'

"Rachel…." a raspy voice calls.

Looking up I see Leo, lying on his side and my face turns white as sugar at the pool of blood around him and the wounds that covered his body. Running over to him, as gently as I could, I turned him on his side. His skin felt so real, which was even more horrifying! His eyes were shut and his mouth open, a trickle of blood dribbling out of it and ran off down his cheek. Putting my ear to his plastron, his breathing was shallow, but could I hear the faint _thump, thump, thump_ of his heart.

"Leo?...Leonardo?" No response. "Leonardo?! Answer me!" I shook him vigorously, but he wouldn't respond.

"Get away from him!" Whirling round, I see the red clad turtle, his eyes full of fury.

"What happened to him?!"

"This is your fault Rachel!" he screamed, brandishing his sais at me. "He's dead. You let him die! He died because of you!"

He swung a side blow. I ducked and kicked my leg out to trip him, but he jumped out of the way right in time and landed backwards on his feet.

"Raph! Stop! Why are you doing this?!"

He advanced towards me again, all blades blazing me. Without warning, he punched me square in the jaw, knocking me backwards onto the floor, sliding a few feet on the floor.

Dashing forward, he tried to stab me, but I grabbed his arms and flipped him over my shoulder onto the ground, snatching his other sai. I held the small weapon out in front of me. For a moment, he didn't move.

"Raph, I'd never hurt you. You or your brothers. You're my family. I love you."

Groaning, he looked up at me rubbing his head. His emerald eyes gleamed as they locked onto mine.

Letting the sai fall, I held out my hand to help him. "I love you Raphael." He glanced at my hand cautiously, but reaching up he took it. Without warning, he unsheathed his other sai and slashed me across the face! I fell onto the floor, the sai in my hand sliding across the floor. At the sound of his pounding feet, I scrambled as fast as I could to the blade. I heard the blade hiss through the air, snatching the sai and turning onto my back with it pointed up. The action was a blur! The sai in his hand clattered to the cement, red splattering onto my hands. Not mine! I froze like time had stopped, my hands shaking and my lungs gasping for air.

"Rachel..." he stammered as he stumbled backwards, "Rachel...why?"

As he fell, I ran to catch him, but some invisible force seemed to be preventing me from reaching him. I clawed at the haze gathering around his lifeless body.

Baxter's laughter rang out again. "Haha...you love this...mutant. This monszztrosity?! Ha! You're even more szztupid and gullible than I predicted." I curled my hands into fists. "Well, you won't be so different from them soon enough."

"What do you mean by that!?" I yelled into the dark.

"You already posseszzzzz powerful abilitieszzzz in you DNA. Soon, I shall have the misszzzing ingredient to the formula that the Maszzzter's requested. Onczzze I inject these additiveszzzz into you blood, it will finally be complete! And yet...if I were to let it mature..the results...yes...Yes!"

"Forget it Stockman! I'll never give it to you!"

"You have no choiczzze, insolent girl! I will have..." But his voice was cut short. A stab of pain shot into my arm, though I couldn't see any needle. The pain crept into the veins of my legs, causing hem to go limp, along with the rest of my body. I screamed! But my no one can hear me. Curling myself into a ball on the floor, I huddled against the concrete, waiting for the is nightmare to be over. More voices called out to me.

"Rachel...Rachel...Wake..up." A streak of red broke through the black. "Listen to me Rachel! This isn't real!" The voice rang clearer, but I didn't want to listen to it. I just wanted this all to be over. I wanted to go home, but instead I'm trapped in this black horrifying nightmare. "Rachel, you have to wake up! Wake up!"

No one's point of view

"She's close by! Just a few blocks away!" Donnie announced, his eyes darting all over the computer screen. "Leo stop here!" The Shellraiser came to a halt and all four of them, weapons ready scaled the rooftops toward Shredder's lair. Way in front of them was Raphael. His eyes fixed on the terrain ahead. He really was listening to Donnie directions, though he didn't show it. He hated himself more than ever, consumed by guilt. Guilt, and the thought of Rachel, the girl he loved, in Shredder's lair being tortured and experimented on by Stockman, and who knows what else being done to her. Of all people, an innocent girl. And it was all his fault.

"Raph!" Leo called, but he chose to ignore him. Hands locked on his sais, the anger festering inside his head drove him on faster. "Raph! Wait up." Leo called, "We need a plan."

"Forget the plan! We have to save her now."

"Raph!" Leo sped up to him, grabbing his shoulder. "Calm down bro."

But Raph angrily shook his hand off. "Don't tell me to calm down! Rachel's in there and Shredder's doing who knows what to her!"

"Chillax brah. We'll get her back, but we gotta think things through. It we bust the front door down, none of us will be able to save her," Mikey jumped in.

"Wow." said Leo with a shocked expression on his face,"Mikey's actually right. We need a strategy. We know where Stockman's lab is, but I'm not certain he'll keep her just sitting around in a cage."

"Yeah, something tells me if she's this important to Shredder, he'll have her under tight security," Donnie inquired, glancing at Raph as he said, "which means we'll have to use stealth, not brute strength." Raph gave a little growl.

"Okay. Donnie, you give us some cover and cut the lights when we get to the main hall. Raph, you're with me. We're going to get Rachel out of the lab. Mikey, we'll need a diversion to distract the guards.

"Why do I always have to be the diversion?" Mikey whined.

"Because you're so good at it." Leo said smugly. Mikey groaned irritably, but didn't argue."

"Let's go ninjas."

Climbing in through an open window, they silently crept down the stone steps, past the dungeon cells and the pillared hall that led to Shredder's throne room. A scream resounded through the hall, making them all jump. The wasn't a playful cry. It was the sound of pure terror. Finally, they came to the double doors of Stockman's lab, flanked by two foot soldiers. As planned, the lights flickered out. Leo slashed them to pieces with ease in a shower of purple sparks. But he hesitated at the awaiting doors.

"Wait!" He signaled for Raph to stop. Mikey and Donnie came up short behind them.

"What now Fearless!?" Raph demanded.

"Something about this is way too easy. I think Shredder's expecting us. Like this is exactly what he'd think us to do. I suggest we proceed with caution."

"Stop being so paranoid Leo. Let's go."

Raph's POV

Inside, Stockman sat at the control panels in the center of the room. All four of our faces were stricken with fear at the sight. There in front of Stockman was Rachel, suspended in a glass water tank by two chains around her wrists and one secured to the collar around her neck. Different colored wires Just the look of her made my shell tighten.

"Woah. What is he doing to her?!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Donnie,"Leo whispered, his voice quivering slightly, "is she…"

"No. I don't think so."

I gritted my teeth. With every second passing, I gripped my sais harder. At this point, I was beyond furious!

"Stockman!?" Rachel's voice! But her lips didn't move. And it wasn't quite her voice. It was more like a voice coming from a speaker or inacom.

" "Haha...you love this...mutant. This monszztrosity?! Ha! You're even more szztupid and gullible than I predicted." My own nails dug into my skin. He was talking about _me_! "Well, you won't be so different from them soon enough."

"What do you mean by that!?" her voice came again.

"You already posseszzzzz powerful abilitieszzzz in you DNA. Soon, I shall have the misszzzing ingredient to the formula that the Maszzzter's requested. Onczzze I inject these additiveszzzz into you blood, it will finally be complete! And yet...if I were to let it mature..the results...yes...Yes!"

"Forget it Stockman! I'll never give it to you!"

He slammed his fist on one of the buttons and hovered over the water. Slowly, the chains lifted her out. The moment her head emerged, she started gasping and flailing like a worm on a hook.

"You have no choice inszzzolent girl!" At the glimpse of a syringe in his hands, I snapped. I bolted through the door, took aim, and flung one of my sai at him. It smacked him square in the face, sending him tumbled into the water and I made a beeline for the tank.

"Wait Raph! Don't!" Donnie yelled. "The whole system is completely wired. If we try to free her like that we could seriously hurt her."

"Then how do we get her out!?"

He hurried over to the computers, tapping away at different keys. Hundreds of coded lines of flew onto the screen faster than I could read. "According to these readings, she's alive, but she's unconscious. And whatsmore...she's breathing under the water."

"What is she, some kind of fish?" I smacked Mikey hard on the back of his head. "Oww!"

"No shellbrain!"

"She was breathing under the water though. It's strange. At the same time, it's almost like she's in the same trance when she was mediating."

"What do mean Donnie?" Leo asked.

"We could hear her speaking, but her lips weren't moving. She was talking telepathically to Stockman, very similar to April's psychic powers. And I think she can hear us too. It's amazing."

"Real fascinating Donnie. Can we slap each other on the backs once we get her out of here?!"

Donnie shot me a glare. "Fine! You think you can go any faster, then why don't you decode these incriptions and I'll do the yelling?!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Guys!" Leo shouted, "Shredder and his goons could be on their way. We need to work together!"

A light flashed red, followed by a loud beeping sound!

"Donnie?! Explanation!?"

Worry was plastered all over his face. "Her vital signs are going critical! Something's wrong! Hurry, grab her!" Turning to another set of keys, he started punching in keys. The wires detached and the chains opening, sending her plummeting back into the tank. Grabbing the side of the tank and swinging myself over, I dove in, grasping her by her arms and taking care to avoid the bruises and cuts. She hung like a limp rag doll in my arms as I swarm her to the surface, keeping her head above the water where I lifted her over the side to Leo. I grumbled under my breath when he lifted her into his arms and held her bridal style, but I didn't say anything and I jumped down to join them.

"Come on!" Donnie called. "We have to get her back to the lair!"

Time Skip

"Leo lay her down here." As he said, Leo placed her on the lab table beside the desk, but she was still jolting around and gasping as much as before.

"Hold her down." Mikey grabbed her legs while Leo and I each took her arms. Donnie rummaged through the drawers, pulling out a twist of nylon straps and a breathing treatment.

The straps made me uneasy."Whoa. Hold up. What do you think you're doing with those?"

"You want her to hurt herself more? It's just to keep her from falling off the table."

"...Alright." He secured the straps snugly, but not too tight, over her arms, legs and waist, and I watched him carefully. It's not that I didn't trust him. I had every faith in my geek brother that he could save her. If anyone could bring her back, it would be Donnie. But I still kept watch over her.

"Leo, go get some of the supplies and medics out of the other room. Mikey, go fix up some soup. Keep an eye on Rachel, Raph." I sat beside her on the counter as Donnie put a breathing mask on over her mouth. She was still jostling the restraints, but they held her onto the table. It was almost frightening to watch her writhe like a dying fish and I couldn't help her. No. I can't think that. She was going to be okay. She had to be!

In a few minutes after the others bounded out the doors, Sensei rushed into the lab. He face fell at Rachel tied down to the lab table. His gaze quickly turned back to me, a stern look in his eyes.  
"Raphael, what has happened!?"

"It's a long story sensei. But she's in trouble. We need help."

He nodded in understanding and looked her up and down."I will do what I can."

"Sensei, can you grab some blankets for her?" Donnie asked, turning on the breathing treatment and hooking an electrode to her skin right above her heart. The heart monitor started beeping critically fast!

"What's wrong with her Donnie!?" I managed.

"She appears to be having some sort of anxiety attack. Sudden feelings of terror that can without any warning. It happens a lot when someone believes that they're having a heart attack, that they're dying, or going crazy. My theory is that most of it was induced by Stockman's injections. Drugs that forced her into panic episodes."

"Can we snap her out of it?"

"It's possible, but it'll be hard to shake her out of it because she's not conscious and under the influence of who knows how many different kinds of drugs." he said, "Sensei! We need those blankets."

Right as he said it, Splinter hurried in with several towels and blankets in his arms with Leo right behind him. I snatched one of the towels and as best I could, dried her off and proceeded to cover her with the blankets, but her wild movement made them fall onto the floor.

"What do we do Donnie?!"

"She's in a frenzy. We have to get her to breathe. If I give her any medication, it may make it worse!"

Suddenly, I remembered what he had said earlier. If she can hear us, then maybe we can snap her out of it if she knows that she's safe and she's no longer in Stockman's lab. Crouching beside her ear, I spoke as gently as I could.

"Rachel. You have to wake up. Listen to me! What you're seeing isn't real. None of it's real. You're not in danger anymore."

No response.

"Rachel It's me. It's Raph! I'm right here with you. Your home. You're with us again! Stockman won't hurt you anymore."

She choked for air.

"You're safe now. Calm down. Just breathe." I didn't care if the others were staring at me. If this was the way to save her, then I would take that chance. "I'm sorry about I did to you. This is my fault. If I hadn't yelled at you or hit you, none of this would have happened. Rachel, we need you here. I need you! Please, come back to me."

I removed the breathing mask from her face, without any regard for the others, I fit my lips to hers, blowing into her as much air as possible.

"Raph?!"

I drew another breath.

"Raph, what...?!"

After almost six breaths, the heart monitor reflected a steady heart beat. She laid perfectly still on the table as if she was sleeping, her breathing calmed down and returned to normal. Donnie, in an awkward sort of way, slowly stepped toward her and checked her pulse. I avoided his gaze by looking at her placid face.

"Raph...I..I didn't….That was incredible."

"Don't mention it," I muttered without looking up.

With a spring in his step, who should appear but Mikey, carrying a large pot of steaming hot soup.

"Dr. Cookinstein has arrived! Hey! How's angelcakes?"

"Knock it off Mikey. Fix a bowl for her. Donnie, help me hold her." Ladling out a couple spoon-fulls, Donnie leaned her up by the shoulders. Holding the bowl steady, I attempted to pour it into her mouth. But it only dribbled out of her mouth and onto her shirt.

"Donnie, how is she going to eat this if she can't even sit up on her own?"

"She will. Try it again."

Holding the bowl up to her mouth two more times, she accepted it and the soup slid down her throat. She drank every drop down, but never spoke or even opened her eyes. After she was done, Donnie untied all the straps of her. He looked her over carefully, giving careful thought and attention to every small cut or bruise that he came across. I watched. She curled up comfortably on the table. I always thought she looked so beautiful when she slept. She looked so peaceful and calm. Something you won't always see her. She wasn't very gentle, but she was fearless and kind-hearted.

"What now?"

"Well her cuts are taken care of, but other than that, there's no telling when she'll wake up." My heart sank. I might have saved her now, but there is the possibility that she won't wake up. I gently stroked her damp hair, running my hand down along her cheek.

"One of us should stay and keep an eye on her." I turned my eyes up at him. It wasn't what he said that threw me off. It was the way he said it. He grinned at me at me and began walking toward the tall lab doors. And I smiled back

I grabbed her hand, rubbing it between my hands. Her skin was colder than I remembered, but still the same hands that I knew so well. I squeezed them tighter and felt a single tear escaping my eye as I leaned down and placed a light kiss on her lips. For once, I felt so satisfied for it to be just me and her together.

Brushing aside some of her hair, I whispered in her ear. "I wasn't there for you before, but now I know how much you actually need it. I'll protect you now."


	12. Chapter 11b - Waking Up

"I can't fix all of your problems.

But I can promise you

that you won't face them alone."

Rachel's POV {5 days after infiltrating Shredder's lair}

My eyes flutter open. A sudden burst of burning pain shoots through me and I cringe. I search for the source of the pain. But it seems to be coming from all over my body. I so desperately wanted to cry. I can barely move, as if my limbs feel as if they're bolted to the ground I'm laying on! It hurts to move. Nothing I had not already felt before. I blink, trying to focus my eyes on my surroundings. A large familiar jar of organs peered at me through the glass with it's curious eyes. Anatomy posters nailed to the concrete wall. Why would they show me Donnie's lab? And how would he know what it looked like? I tell myself that it isn't real! Another illusion. But that kiss felt so real. No. Just another trick of Stockman's.

"Stockman please! Let me be," I screamed in my head. But why would he leave me unrestrained or even bother to cover me with warm blankets? Unless for some other form of experimentation. Running my hand over them, they felt so real and so familiar. They felt like...the ones from my own bed in the lair. Another stab of pain draws my attention to my sides. The tank top I was wearing was rolled up to just the bottom part of my bra and was wrapped in white bandages. The metal shackles had been removed and the cuts were visible. When I survey the familiar outline of Donnie's lab, it doesn't blur or fizzle out like the other pictures. The images seemed solid. Real.

"Raph come on. You've barely slept or eaten anything." Leo's voice echoes from the next room. But I saw him die! He died right in my arms! I shudder and tell myself that it's just a dream. 'I'm still in Stockman's lab. The drugs are making me hallucinate.'

"Save your breath Fearless! I'll sleep later!" Raphael. His voice sounded almost the same, if not for the slight hint of defeat.

I tried to sit up, but it felt as if my body was made of stone. With every little effort, I drew closer to the edge of the table, but the more the pain cut into my skin.

"Let me stay with her Raph while you get some rest. You really need it." said Leo, his calm voice unwavered by Raph's harsh response.

"She's my responsibility Leonardo! What concern is it of you?" Rarely did Raph ever use Leo's full name unless he was REALLY angry.

"Rachel IS my concern, Raphael. And so are you. We're all concerned about her. You can rest while I watch her."

"The only one watching her is ME! If you ever come near her…"

'I have to stop this.' With a one more push, my weight shifted and with a hard smack, I tumbled hard face first onto the floor in a heap of blankets. I stifled small cry as my head started to throb. All the shouting outside quickly subsided. Two pairs of heavy footsteps approached the tall lab doors. Raph and his eldest brother stopped dead in their tracks at me lying on the floor and were completely dumbfounded when they saw me with my eyes open.

"Rachel!" they screamed in unison, "Guys! Guys! She's awake!"

The both of them rushed to me, Raph folded me carefully into his arms and Leo wrapped his arms around us.

"Your...real. Your both real!" I buried my face into his shoulder.

"Yeah. We're real." Raph whispered, trying to hide the quiver in his voice. "Rachel, if you keep having close calls like this all the time, I'll start putting the beat down on you myself."

"Nice to see you too hothead."

"We've all missed you so much Rach!" Leo said, gently stroking my hair, a gesture that I had not really received from him before.

"We thought...you wouldn't...make it," Raph's voice cracked. I felt something wet on my shoulder. Raph and Leo both were...crying?! The leader and the warrior, the most fearless and toughest mutants I knew were crying! I gripped the both of them harder and the tears that wouldn't fall from my eyes streamed freely down my cheeks. Then they both pulled away just far enough to look at me. Raph's eyes were red rimmed and traced with black circles, a clear sign that he hadn't had any sleep for several days.

"How ya feeling?" whispered Raph, cupping each side of my face in his hands and wiping away the tears on my cheeks.

"Well," I sniffed,"I've been used as a lab rat, prodded with needles, become a human energy source, nearly drowned in a water tank, a prize held for ransom, exposed to the Foot-"

"Hey, hey? It's okay." Leo touched my shoulder and I looked at him. "He just asked how you were feeling, not for you to spill every detail of what Stockman did to you. Don't worry. Your home with us again. I'll fix you some tea and go get Donnie."

"Angelcakes!" Right as he stood up, Mikey bounded into the lab and tackled me into a fierce hug. "Your back!"

I returned the gesture. "Yes Mikey. I'm back."

"Mikey! Not so hard," Donnie yelled, loosening Mikey's grip on , putting his own arms around me and we shared a group hug.

"Specially made pizza tonight!" Mikey announced.

I smiled, my heart overwhelmed with joy. "Thanks Mikey. I'd love that very much." Right then I noticed that we were still kneeling together on the floor. Ignoring the stinging in my legs, I rose onto my feet. Right as I stood up, they buckled and I fell onto the floor again.

"Whoa whoa! Rachel, you want to kill yourself all over again?!" Raph yelled, grabbing me by the arms and pulling me up. He walked me back to the lab table.

"Rachel?" Donnie took my hands in his. "We know you've been through alot and we're so glad that you're finally back with us, but you need to tell us what went down in Stockman's laboratory."

This took the happiness out of my eyes. I didn't want to tell them about the torturing I'd endured. The shock sticks, the IV's that endlessly drained my blood, the stabbing needles full of unknown chemicals, the horror of drowning to death. Worst of all, I didn't want to tell them about the horrifying allusions Stockman had simulated into my brain.

I looked at the four of them. I trusted them more than anyone else, besides Sensei, April, and probably Casey. I bit my lip and the irony taste of blood filled my mouth, with the four pairs of eyes fixed on me.

"Here." Leo walked into the lab, holding out a beautifully painting cup filled almost to the brim with steaming tea. "This should help."

It warmed my cold hands as I took a small sip. It sent a warm, calming sensation through my body and with a deep breath, I began. "After I left the rink, I ran about ten blocks and laid down on the rooftops." I gladly cut out the fact that Raph had hit me, but I kept on with my story. "Then the Foot came. They knocked me out with a weird chemical mixture. When I woke up, I found myself in this long room with concrete walls and ceiling." I rubbed the skin around the cuts on my wrists. "They had bound me to the back wall with thick chains. Karai..Xever...they took me to Stockman. When I didn't go, they'd fried me with shock sticks." Mikey, who usually didn't stay still for more than a quarter of a second, listened eagerly, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. Leo calmly took in every word, but his expression remained noncommittal. Donnie kneeled on the floor with a saddened look on his face, clutching my hands. Raph's brow was twitching and his body was tensing so much that his veins were almost bulging from his dark green skin.

"I lost count of how many needles he injected me with. To extract blood samples, he …..stuck IVs all over my arms and legs. I thought I was…going to drown..when he plunged me into that water tank. But….I was breathing. Not much. Not enough to satisfy, but breathing."

"I looked at the data on Stockman's computer." Donnie interjected, "It appears that your lungs work differently. You can respire under the water for a very long period of time, even longer than we could."

"All I saw was darkness, all around me. But suddenly….everything shifted like I was walking on solid ground again. And then….t-then..." I couldn't say anymore. I looked pathetic, like a poor little broken thing. I always told myself that I was strong enough to handle myself, but I couldn't even avoid being captured by the Foot.

"I….I..I can't….I can't" I stammered, choking back more tears. Raph's emerald eyes were filled with sympathy and he pulled me towards him, gently rubbing my back.

"It's okay Rachel." Donnie rested his hand on my shoulder You don't have to tell us everything. I'll need to run some tests to see what Stockman's infected you with. But...I'll need to take a blood sample."

"It's fine. I can deal with it."

"You sure?"

"Yes," I said firmly. On the inside, I was hissing at the thought of seeing another needle enter my skin.

"We don't have to do it now. All I can say right now is that you need rest and that means no training. And counting on the fact that you'd been asleep for 5 days, I'm suspecting that you're hungry. Mikey?"

"Way ahead of you bro!" Mikey shouting, briefly saluting his older brother and disappearing into the main room towards the kitchen.

Leo brushed aside a bunch of hair that fell in front of my face. "It's really good to have you back Rach. I'll go tell Sensei that you're awake." And with that, he exited the lab, leaving me, Raph, and Donnie alone.

Raph smirked at me. "C'mon. You heard the doctor. You need some rest."

"Seriously, I wake up from a 5-day long coma and you that I'm in a hurry to fall asleep again?" I said in a sarcastic sort of way.

Gathering me into his arms, he carried me to my room. I cradled the cup of tea between my hands as he laid me on my bed, covering my shivering body with my soft duvet. How good it felt to have pillows and bedsheets again! But when Raph turned towards the door, I snatched his hand. I didn't want to be alone again. He kneeled beside my bed.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

My heart ached to tell him, but how will he react? I blushed a little as I asked,

"Will you stay with me?"

He didn't say anything for several minutes, and after thinking about it, he smiled sympathetically and pushed aside the covers. He took the cup of tea from my hands and set it on the side table. I scooted over to make room for him and he laid beside me, pulling me close in his arms. Never in what seemed like a really long time had I felt so safe. I snuggled into his shoulder and fell asleep with my head against his plastron, so satisfied to hear his beating heart once again.


	13. Chapter 12a - Letting Go

**Chapter 12a** \- **Letting Go**

"You're the last thing I want to lose,

You're the thought I wake up to,

And the thought I fall asleep to."

 _All different colors fly overhead, the path of stars unraveling before me. With every step, the light glows brighter. The small house with the brown lawn stood empty, almost swallowed whole with vines, and looked as if it had never been inhabited._

" _What happened here," I called to no one in particular, "Why do you keep showing me this but you won't tell me what it means?! What does it mean?!"_

 _Only silence answered me. I let out a sigh of dismay and with my feet barely touching the ground, I stepped onto the porch and looked through one of the windows, the only one not covered in vines. The inside was just as empty and quiet as the last time I saw it. I shielded my eyes for a closer look, but as soon as my fingertips touched it the glass rippled like water and started to drift into the black again. Then the colors blurred together. Below my feet, the ground turned to grimy concrete as a new landscape surrounded me. An alleyway littered with trash and broken glass. A shadow with a form that I could recognize anywhere stood right outside the light of the lamppost. His eyes glowed pink in the dark._

" _The Kraang?!"_

 _Behind me, another figure joined us. He was taller than me with broad wide shoulders and looked really well-built. He wore old slacks, a collared shirt with a long unbuttoned trench coat. I squinted really hard trying to see his face, but the shadows kept it hidden. Right when he stepped into the circle and before I could catch a glimpse of his face, my brain sent a shock into my body, and I gripped my head with both hands in pain. The image shattered into hundreds of pieces and I shut my eyes as I fell._

 _My feet hit hard on stone. A rooftop. No a battle field. Lifeless bodies of tall hulking creatures that looked almost lizard-like. Dead, with every kind of weapon littering the ground like a junkyard. An angry wind whirled around like a cyclone, kicking up dust and dirt in a thick haze. Five large figures emerged beyond the dark fog that blocked my view of the horizon. One ran into the mess of bodies, moving one off of another. He held in his arms a girl, dressed in a Foot uniform and long black hair that fell over her shoulders. Her eyes were closed, but in her pale clammy face, it was more than likely that she was dead. He cradled her in his arms, hugging her to his chest and hysterically sobbing into her shoulder._

 _The very roofs of the buildings seemed to be tore apart by the power of the wind and carried up into the sky. Walls of water rose up with them with everything else that soon remained of the city until there was simply pitch black. The floor beneath left me drifting in an never-ending nothingness._

When I open my eyes, the I rub my head and wake to the sweet musty scent of old worn leather. Feeling through the covers for Raphael, I can't find him. _But he was here_. Now I'm all alone. Again.

No. I'm not alone. Another drop falls to the floor. Two fiery white eyes narrowed with blind rage. I don't even notice that I had begun backing away from him until my back touches the sound of a water hitting stone emanates from behind me. His dark green skin was now a pale grey, a large scratch down his left arm and drips of blood running to the center plastron. He looked like an undead arising. And most frightening of all, his own sai was wedged in thecenter of his chest, right over his heart! Red dripped along the silver blade and fell to the floor.

'Right where I had stabbed him!' Another drip of blood stained the floor.

"Why are you here? How did you get here? I killed..you. Y-you were...dead. No. no, you're not real. You're just what's left of Stockman's drugs. You're not real. You're not even Raph. And I'm not in the lair."

He growled like a rabid animal and raised a shaking hand to strike me. "None of this is real," I told myself, looking straight at him. "It's not real." Scrunching my eyes closed, I heard the blade strike the air. I shrieked when the knife slit my arms as I held them up to protect myself.

I woke with a start, sitting upright. It was dark again. One tiny shard of light glimmering at the base of the door, and I was in my bed again. I jumped as something moved next to me, but to my relief, Raphael had fallen asleep with his arm around my waist, tucked up next to him in a protective embrace. He stirred a little next to me, pulling me closer to him and for a moment I wanted to crawl out of his grip. Hesitantly, I touched the scar on the right side of his plastron, feeling the cracks with my fingertips. He was real. I'd almost forgotten that he had stayed with me last night and that I was the one that had asked him to. I laid back down facing him and closed my eyes, but the horrible vision of his fierce threatening white eyes rushed into my head again.

Sleeping would be useless. As slowly as possible, I gently lifted his arm off of me. I flinched and nearly dropped it when I heard him mumble something in his sleep, but he didn't wake up.

I immediately started to shiver the moment that my feet touched the cold concrete of the sewer floor. With a last glance at Raph sound asleep in my bed, I tip-toed into the hall of doors trying to avoid putting as much of my feet on the ground as possible. The different colored lights that flickered across the room hinted that the TV had not been turned off. Plopping down on the sofa, I winced and rubbed my sides as the cuts all over my torso and upper leg reminded me of how badly I was hurt , but I quickly shook the feeling away, grabbed the controller and started flipping through the channels. Leo's favorite show popped up, the one that Raph constantly complained about almost all the time. "Space Heroes" I think he called it, and actually it wasn't that bad. But after about three episodes, I lost interest and decided to head into the dojo.

The beautiful and healthy oak tree stood quiet and tranquil in the light cool breeze that drifted in through the drain, basking at ease in a beam of bright blue moonlight that made it's leaves gleam and sparkle like molded silver. While the dojo was the coldest room in the lair, especially on winter nights, it seemed in any weather to have a very enlightening, humbling aura that had the ability to sooth even the most troubled mind that ever set foot inside of its secluded wall and sat to meditate beneath the evergreen branches. Yet that mind should not stay to a certain degree, should he wander further and further into a drifting ocean of thoughts and emotions until he was so far gone that he could never be called back to his senses. It doesn't at all surprise me that this is where Master Splinter spends the majority of his time honing his exceptional, ancient ninjutsu skills, because it's the very same case for me, even if I do have several qualities in common with Raphael's hotheaded personality. Out of every room in the lair, besides the living area on movie night, the dojo was like a safe haven for me to gather my thoughts, let go of emotions, and even bust the life out of a few dummies when someone really ticked me off. In any case, the dojo was always my favorite.

It just so happened that someone had a very similar idea as me and a tall figure was seated at the base of the trunk, deep in a focused meditative trance. Recollecting the incident from a previous episode when I at one point rudely disturbed the interloper and touched a section of my hair that was more uneven than the rest, I thought it best to return to my room, crawl back into bed, and try to sleep again.

But as I turned to leave, the voice stopped me dead in my tracks and beckoned. "Come here."

Without a second thought, I obeyed and sat in front of him. For a moment, I just stared unceasingly in awe as the holes in the mask opened wide and the beautiful pair of cerulean orbs were revealed. They were not as much a glowing flame as Raph's, but they were so sharp and alert; yet they also mirrored the moon's elegance and glittered like pure sapphires.

The moment was short-lived as his calm tone broke the silence that had settled over us. "Couldn't sleep?"

I managed a small smile. "Not a wink."

"Me neither. Not since….you know."

I didn't say anything. There wasn't much to say.

"I'd think that after 5 days, you'd be exhausted."

"I am." Truly I was, but my dreams had minds of their own and wouldn't dare allow me any peace.

"Why don't you try? After all that's happened, it'd be best."

"I'm fine," I replied, hugging my legs to my chest.

"Rachel, is there something wrong?"

Horrible images rushed back into my head at the thought of sleeping again. Only to doze off until the nightmares took hold to taunt and terrify me as long as they pleased. "No I'm fine," I snorted. It was a stupid question with a perfectly predictable answer. "And I'm probably still asleep right now. You're not even real, just like the aberration of Mikey hiding rubber cockroaches in Raph's bed, and I'm still asleep in my bed right now. None of what I'm saying is real."

"Rachel," His voice was unchanging, and his razor-edged eyes looked as if they could see right through me, "For someone who's lived in my home for nearly a month now, I know enough about you to notice when something is bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me," I lied. His voice was so calm, like a still, silent flowing creek. But it only made the heat rise into my cheeks.

"You want to talk about it?" _Really! Does he ever take NO for an answer?_

"I just told you, nothing's bothering me!"

He opens one eye and gives me a look. "You sure?"

"Yes! Why do you keep asking!?" I stand up and move toward the exit.

"Rachel wait! I didn't mean to—"

"It doesn't matter Leo!" His questions were like a battering ram, smashing endlessly at a stubborn door that wouldn't budge, but was fixing to give way. More questions that I didn't know how to answer. "Sleep won't help me. Nothing can help me. I'm just….just….so…." _His red-masked brother undead with the his own sai in his heart, by my hand! The boy I love! Forced to fight instead of killing myself or allowing him to kill me in his place; looking up at me with innocent eyes filled with betrayal and excruciating pain. His corpse on a snowy rooftop under a black sky and I'm held back by the haze. The cage that contained a writhing angry animal, ready to devour her enemy._ The pictures didn't stop as if they were put on repeat. My fist connected with the concrete pillar! A loud crack reverberated in my ears, the trembling force traveling through my entire body and ignited the dim coals of trauma that Stockman had inflicted on me, followed by the sound of startled feet from behind as a sob escaped my mouth. My legs crumpled like wet paper to the floor and hot tears stung my eyes, no longer strong enough to keep back the tension that torn at my insides like claws.

Arms wrapped around my back, pulling me into reassuring hug and burying my face into his carapace. Not Raph's arms, but leaner. His large fingers gently stroked my hair, just like when I first woke up. "It's okay Rachel It's alright." He helped me onto my feet but instead of steering me towards the doorway out of the dojo, he lead me towards the tree. "Tell me what's upsetting you."

I don't look at him. I can't imagine how pathetic I looked with him babying me like this. "Nothing. It's nothing." I said. I really didn't want to tell anyone. He gave me a hard look, from which I could immediately tell that he was not persuaded.

"You know you're a terrible liar, Rachel. It isn't nothing, and something tells me has to do with what happened in Shredder's lair. You weren't completely honest with Donnie, weren't you? When he asked about what Stockman did to you?" I wanted so desperately to tell him, but how would he respond if I told him that Stockman made me see allusions of me fighting his younger brother, and then killing him! He made me kill Raph!

My body was starting to shake even more and I looked away from him. Leo seemed to notice because he squeezed my hand placed his hand on my cheek, forcing me to look at him. "Rachel. Please. Tell me what's wrong."

My voice quivered,"I...I..." I pulled away and wouldn't look him in the eye, "I...I can't."

He sighed heavily and pulled my chin up to make me look him in the eyes. "Rachel, you're a part of this family. And being part of a family means that you have to have trust in them. Do you not trust me?"

Sitting beside me again, he lifted my chin with his fingers to make me look at him. "The first step to begin healing is to forgive. Let your anger and hurt out." He urged. _'Sounds like something Master Splinter would say.'_

"I can help you, but only if you trust me enough to tell me what's wrong. Tell me what happened. What really happened," I still didn't look at him. If I tell him or any of them, then they would never let me train or let me go to the surface again. They'd keep me secluded in the sewers. But how can I lie to him? One of the mutants...no, the people who saved me when I was sentenced to die?

I drew a deep breath. "I do trust you Leonardo," I said, managing a small smile. "When I was lowered into that tank, I could still breathe. It was darkness all over, nothing but pitch black. Then...I saw….Master Splinter. But then he disappeared. It was grew dark again. But I heard a voice in the next room. It was calling. I was standing out on a dark rooftop, even the sky was dark. And...I saw…"

"What did you see?" Leo asked eagerly.

"I saw...Y-You." His eyes widened. "You were...covered with...bruises and cuts. And..you was barely breathing." A stray tear escaped my eye, which I angrily wiped away.

"Don't hold them back." he said sympathetically, "It's far better to let them out than keep them contained."

More tears ran down my cheeks. "Then, you just...stopped breathing. I heard something behind me."

"What was it?"

"It was...it...was," I choked, "It was...Raph. He...tried to...kill me. I kept seeing it over and over again! He and I were constantly fighting! I was forced to...kill him." I started to sob. Leo placed his hand on my back and gently rubbed it, which seemed to calm me down. "And after that...I was pulled away from him. Then it started all over again. With each time it happened, I felt weaker. And I lost count of how many times the same SIM was induced."

"You were...afraid of him?" he asked.

I looked up at him. "No. More, I was afraid to kill him. Why would I be afraid of Raph?"

"Donnie mentioned that the SIM's Stockman was inducting you with were partially based on making your fears a reality in your mind. Or...something like that. Trailed off into some scientific geek stuff. You wouldn't even understand it if explained it to you."

I chuckled. As tense as I was, I couldn't resist a little laughter to lighten the mood and make him a little less worried about me. "It figures that would happen."

"See?" He smiled, pointing at me, "There's the Rachel I know."

I rolled my eyes and lightly punched him in the arm. "Hey Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"You think you could show me a little more about how to meditate properly. I've tried so many times in training, but I can't seem to get the hang of it.

He nods with a wide grin on his face. "I think I can help with that."

He shows me how to sit the correct way and I try to copy his movements and positions. Whenever he tries to start up a conversation, I try to come up with a way of changing the subject and divert it away from the events of last week. However huffed up I was, I didn't want to turn a friendly talk with one of my best friends into another storm of bickering. I've unfortunately begun picking up Raph's example, which isn't exactly a good thing.

"I have a hunch that the Kraang are somehow connected to my heritage. Specifically my parents."

"Your parents? What makes you think that?" He asks without opening his eyes.

"Well…I may have had a dream about it. A man with the features of someone that's very close to me was meeting one in a city just like this one, but the images of everything around the area were more defined and detailed."

He didn't interrupt me while I spoke.

"I don't know, Leo. It may just be my faulty memory messing with me."

"It doesn't seem that way to me."

I groaned irritably. "Well, if you can translate the meaning of every image that pops into my dreams, then by all means, I'm open."

Leo wasn't deterred by my sarcasm."Master Splinter once told me a legend about a rare skill that is blessed to a certain few that have practiced ninjutsu."

"Great. Another skill to add to my endless list of unique talents, besides the fact that my memories are harnessed by a microscopic Kraang stasis device, I can breath underwater for a fascinatingly long time, and have strange visions when I mediate or dream. What's gonna happen next? I'm going to mutate into a humanoid cat or something?"

"May I remind you that my whole family and I are mutants?"

"Sorry Leo. It's just something I'm thinking about."

"You never know, but your description is very similar to what Master Splinter told me. Warriors that train for a majority of their life blessed with the gift of foresight."

I shifted uneasily on my feet and almost laughed at the last part. "Leo, you actually think that I have some freakish way of seeing the future?"

"I said maybe. It does remind me a lot of what he told me." My eyes were still closed as I felt his light touch on my shoulder. "Hey, you should probably get some rest."

As if on cue, I yawned and rubbed my eyes. "Yeah, maybe.

No one's POV

Half-past midnight. The compassionate blue-masked leader and the impulsive headstrong girl, reveling in the fresh relaxing night air seeping through the cracks of the abandoned underground station that they had made their home. They both took pleasure in each other's company with quiet conversation, for they both were aware of the others still asleep.

However, through their luxury and amusement, they were both not aware of the two emerald hues, shrouded in the darkness outside of the circle, that were blazing with jealousy and glaring daggers at the back of Leo's head.

Sooooooo….What do you think?

Please review!


	14. Chapter 12b - Mutations

**Hey guys! Yes, I'm finally back from the dead. So sorry for the long delayed update! Summer has been nothing but work ever since it started and there has been no end to it. This chapter was a sucker on my brain! It took me a really while to get it right. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!**

"Through thick and thin, I'll accept

you at your strongest. Yet, love and

support you at your weakest."

Raph's POV

' _She was with him. Alone. By herself. Of course this is her home now, so she can go anywhere she likes. Except up top. But she was with him. He was...looking at her. And she was...holding hands with him. Why does that bother me so much?'_

I wake to the sound of Rachel's steady breathing as she lay sleeping peacefully next to me. She must come back from the dojo after I'd fallen asleep last night. She's looks so much better than before and is snuggled up right next to me. Whenever I watched her before, I most often saw her tossing and turning in her nightly persistent nightmares. Sometimes they were so terrible she would start sobbing and writhing like a lunatic in her sleep. I always feel awkward when I see girls cry, but I often had the urge to just come into her room and fold her into my arms just until she calmed down; An urge that I always subdued before.

Without warning, the door creaks open, light seeping its way into the room. It's so bright that for a moment I'm blind to the person standing in the doorway.

"Raph? Are you awake?"

I pretend to be asleep, but too late as the intruder walks in anyway and starts nudging me, "Raph. Come on, I know you're awake. I need to talk to you."

"Spare me the lecture. I ain't gettin' up for one of you're stupid training exercises." I try hard not to yell so I don't wake Rachel. Poor girl's been through a lot in the past week and she'll need as much rest as possible. "What's it gonna take for a turtle to get some sleep around here?"

"Training? It's almost noon, you've slept through half the day Raph. And it's not training. It's about Rachel," he beckons.

He says it as though it's really important. Whatever it is, it better be good. Without as little movement as possible, I untangle Rachel's arms around me. For a moment, it almost looks as though her skin looks a shade darker, almost to a faint grey. Or that may just be the lighting. I tuck them up under the pillow. She stirs in her sleep, reaching around in the area where I had been sleeping moments before. It's a good thing she's a heavy sleeper, but I hope she doesn't try to do anything drastic while I'm gone.

My blue-masked brother walks into the empty living area and into the dojo where Mikey and Donnie were already waiting for us.

"Whatever this is about Leo, it better not have anything to do about what you saw! She was frightened and I—"

"Bro, I think you did the right thing. She needs looking after and she needs you," he says smiling and from what I can tell, his face depicted a slightly pained expression.

Suddenly, I feel my face starting to burn from embarrassment. _'Was not expecting that. And in front of the guys.'_ "Oh, well then? Then what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Awww! Raph really does her! Oww!"

"Okay, so you guys know how I didn't sleep too well last night?"

"No," we all say at the same time.

I can't help but smile at his annoyance. "Well I didn't. So I went into the dojo to meditate. Rachel actually woke up late last night too and joined me."

"Leo geez! I know you like and all but seriously, can you show a little restraint? Oww! Stop hitting me Raph."

"Then show some restraint on that big mouth of yours. What's this all about Leo?"

"She talked to me about her capture. Things that I think you should know about. Things that happened in Stockman's lab while she was being...experimented on."

 _'She actually talked about them? She could barely speak about them at all when she first woke up, but why would she go to Leo first? And not me?'_ "Like what?"

"It's a lot to take in, but there's one simple thing I can say. And it's that Stockman's cruelty to her will not be so easily passed off. The things that she described to me were both more fascinating and worse than I could ever imagine. Than WE could even imagine."

"Um, Leo? I'm not sure I'm old enough to hear this story," Mikey says quietly.

"Like what Leo? What did they do to her?"

"After listening to her story, I think I understand why Shredder's going bonkers looking for her."

"You want to share with the rest of the class what the shell you're talking about?"

"Shredder's done everything he can to hunt us down and finish us, and even use anyone we know to obtain the upper hand in this fight. And sometimes by interrogation. He has his methods to get his victims to talk when they have information he wants. But I don't think he wants her for intel on our location or secrets."

"What do you mean?"

"Devilish images and horror SIMs are not your ordinary torture. I thought over it all very carefully and I think Shredder wants her for something far bigger."

"I wonder if it was just another test. When I checked the readings of her vitals when she was submerged in that tank, her stress levels were skyrocketing. As in on the brig of a heart attack. If the setting was any higher, it would've killed her."

"But why would he do that to her? Why would he keep her alive?"

"I think I know Mikey, but it's going to sound crazy."

"You'll sound crazy anyway. Just spit it out already!"

"I think Rachel may have 'The Seeing.'"

For a moment I'm just shocked that he'd even bring up some old Japanese Legend. "Haha. Leo you've finally cracked. You can't seriously believe that Rachel could have some ancient Japanese power."

"I'm serious Raph! Based on what she told me, she saw events in her dreams that looked like they were past events that she's starting to remember. But only after she witnessed pictures that horrified her. And a key emotion to triggering 'The Seeing' is fear."

"I don't know Raph. Leo may have a point."

"Donnie? Seriously, do you believe this?"

"Well, technically speaking it may just be her faulty memory, but….it just may be possible. Leo, what else did she tell you?"

"She described a dark sky, a blacked out city, and giant lizard-like creatures roaming the rooftops and streets. Fires everywhere. She said she couldn't see the creatures clearly enough to see what they really were."

"So Rach can like see the future or something?"

"Interesting. Still Leo, do really think that she could have a gift like that?"

"Master Splinter's description does seem to match it perfectly. Rachel could have the gift of foresight."

"My sons." They broke the circle as their father joined them, his focus on the eldest. "What is this all about?"

"Sensei, I think Rachel might have 'The Seeing.' Do you think that it's possible?"

The old rat stroked his beard calmly and closed his eyes deep in thought. "Hmm. Perhaps. 'The Seeing' is a very rare and certainly powerful gift blessed to some of the most greatest practitioners of ninjutsu. Very few have acquired the skill, especially one of such a tender age. And though it is a powerful and sometimes useful gift, it also makes its bearer more mentally unstable and temperamental."

"But Rachel relies more on instinct than just skill and has nearly excelled above the title of kunoichi to the higher ranks, almost higher than us. And she told me that she's been seeing things."

"Explain my son."

"She told me….she's been seeing repetitive pictures every time she has a dream or meditates. Some of them she said were remarkably familiar to her and some also involving the Kraang."

"It is possible, but I think it best for us not to make any further assumptions until we have further confirmation. Furthermore, I advise that we say nothing to Rachel until she has had time to heal from her afflictions. We need not burden her even more."

A bloodcurdling scream comes from outside the dojo. In a few seconds, I'm out of the dojo and across the living room.

"Rachel!"

Rachel's POV

I grab a bundle of clothes and run my fingers through my oily hair as I walk across the hall to the bathroom. Since I've been asleep for so long, I can't remember the last time I had a shower.

The hot water feels amazing on my skin. I scrub the gunk and oil out of my hair with the shampoo and conditioner that Donnie had brought down for me from the surface. I slip on the T-shirt and jeans I had brought with me.

I brush out my hair and pull it back into a ponytail. But when I look in the mirror, I scream! Two tufts of fur stuck up from either side of my head and something long and heavy brushes against my legs. Reaching behind me, I grab at it and pull. It's soft and furry, but it feels like I'm pulling at my own tailbone. Touching either side of my head, I don't feel my ears! I'm losing feeling in my knees and they crumple lifelessly to the floor. A thick fog covers my vision.

"Rachel! What's wrong?" says a voice behind the door

I turn towards the door, but don't unlock or open it. "Raphael! Something is happening to me!"

"What is it? Are you okay?" he says in a calm voice.

"No! I don't know what's happening to me!"

"Rachel, do you want me to come in?"

I hear his voice, but my eyes are clouded with tears and cannot see the bathroom door anymore. The ar feel as though it's getting thinner and it becomes hard to breathe. His voice becomes fainter and fainter. I can't move!

"Rachel, are you alright? Please open the door," he calls again with more concern in his voice, but I almost can't hear him anymore. I open my mouth to answer him, but no sound comes out. All of my joints feel frozen, nailed to the wall at my back. I draw deep breaths, but I lose more than I gain! I jump as I hear a loud crack.

Large arms wrap around my shoulders, squeezing me tightly, but the I still can't clearly see his face.

"Rachel, look at me." Two green eyes peek out through the haze, full of worry and sympathy. "It's okay. Just calm down."

Suddenly the eyes close, a hand tilts my head, and I stop breathing as a pair of lips presses against mine. My eyes close and the only other thing I know beyond my focus is that Raphael is so close to me. When I pull away for air, it's easier to breathe.

"Raphael-" but he silences me with his fingers.

"I know. Just breathe. That's right." He smiles as he hugs me to his chest, rubbing circles on my back and whispering comforting words in my ear until my breathing returns to normal.

"Are you okay now?" he asks after some time.

I nod, but my gaze is focused on the tail that twitches and wags behind me. "I don't know what's happening to me. I felt like I was dying."

"I don't know what's happening or how it's happening, but I bet you 50 bucks Donnie might have an idea. Why don't we ask him? Can you stand?"

"I'm just frightened Raph, not crippled." I lie. My legs feel like jelly. He steadies me anyway when I start to wobble.

"Thanks."

He smirks at me."Now come on. Let's ask Donnie."

"Donatello!" I half-run across the living room towards the dojo, only to be surrounded by the entire Hamato family.

"Rachel. Are you alright? I was just going to come and…." He trails off and just gawks at me. "Um, Rachel? You have a tail."

"Donnie," I plead, ignoring what he had just said, "Please tell me! Exactly what was in those injections!?"

"Why? What happened? Wait, what's up with your eyes?"

I pointed to my eye with one hand and extended my other arm to show him. "They're gold, Donnie! Just yesterday, I'm pretty sure they were green! My skin is gray, and" I hold up my tail, "I have a tail!"

"Calm down Rach. I'll figure it out," he took my hand, examining it carefully. "Interesting."

Raph hurries over to me and takes my other hand. "What's happening to her Don?"

"Well, it looks almost like…it could be that...wait...no, I'll have to run more tests to be sure."

"Spit it out brainiac," Raph snapped, "What is happening to Rachel?"

"Don't pressure me Raph. I don't know exactly...yet," Donnie stutters as he leads me out of the dojo, briefly signalling the others to let us alone. We go into the lab and he sits me on the main counter in the center of the room. "Now Rachel, do you remember anything else that Stockman was doing in that lab? Knowing Stockman, he often has a knack for revealing his plan to his enemies. Did he tell you anything that he was going to do?"

Thinking back to the incident with the water tank, I shudder. "I remember...he said something about testing my respiratory capacity...and...during the procedure he was securing me to the table, stabbed me with a syringe, and when he was about to submerge me in it...I..broke the shackles. I broke right through the metal. I thought about never seeing you guys again, or seeing my parents again...but it wasn't enough. He secured me again and right before he submerged me,...he said he was...going to amplify...something. Something about my strength with chemical reagaaa...I don't know, it seems all fuzzy."

"Don't tire yourself out Rachel," says Donnie resting a hand on my shoulder. "I think a portion of the injection components was meant to make you forget some of the incidents so you wouldn't remember enough to tell us about his plans. Sometimes while he's not being stupid, he can be pretty clever. But you said just enough. Obviously the tank covers the respiratory part of it. But the chemical reagent, I'll have to run a full diagnostic to be sure, just to make sure that you're clean of any trackers or anything else. I would have done it last night, but I didn't want to stress you out after you just woke up."

He clears off a spot on his cluttered desk, pulling out a clipboard with notebook paper and a pencil. First he checks my pulse and scribbles something on his clipboard. He inspects my irises closely, holding a light in front of it and watching my pupils resize before writing more words down. And Raph watches him vigilantly, occasionally growling under his breath.

"Alright Rachel, I need hold very still for me while I take your bandages off." I do as I'm told, listening to him as he unravels the bandages on my arms. "The marks from the chains should heal pretty quickly, but it appears that Stockman created small puncture wounds along your side when he stuck all of those IVs into you. They're not terribly serious, but they may take a little longer to heal." Suddenly, I feel him stop and turn my gaze over at him, his face full of disbelief. "Woah." When I look, we share the same faces.

The marks from the chains are gone! No wound, no scratch, not even a break in the skin. They've completely disappeared.

Raph shares the same look, gently grazing my newly healed arm with his thumb. "You'da think that it would'ha taken much longer for them to heal than just a night."

"It's almost like it never happened. How is this possible Don?"

Donnie breaks out of his daze and scrawls more words on his sheet of paper. "Same way that giant talking turtles is possible. It's incredible. You healed almost a week faster than an average human."

This makes me feel uneasy. "Um, what does that mean? I have some strange way of healing faster?

"It would seem so," Donnie replies, tapping his chin.

"But it took nearly three weeks for my bullet wound to heal. How come that didn't heal as fast?"

"Well, often times it depends on the severity of the wound, what kind of treatments you give it, and sometimes you can stress it out if you're too active. For example, training could put stress on your wound and make the healing process much longer, it could be the-"

Raph rubs his temples and groans, "Einstein, could you save the geek talk and just tell her what the shell is happening to her!?"

"Pipe down Raph. I cannot work with all of this pressure. I'll figure it out. But I know it had something to do with the injections. Rachel?" He looks at me with a worried look for a brief moment and then looks away. "Whatever this change is, I think it might be...genetic."

"O...kay. That may explain the ears and tail. So what now?" Just by looking at his face, I understand.

"I'll need a blood sample to analyze. I...hope you don't mind."

I pull back my sleeve and hold it out to him. "It's fine Don. Go ahead."

He prepares a syringe, finds a vein on my arm and rubs the spot with a disinfectant wipe. I wince and look away as the needle sinks into my skin. I've long since been used to this kind of pain, but the sting still gives me shivers. Donnie carefully removes it, the barrel completely filled with my blood. Setting it aside, he places a bandage over the spot.

Raph stands beside me, watching his every move as he empties the sample into a microscope lens and types something into his computer.

"Donnie. What's going on?" The blue-masked turtle pokes his head inside the lab doors. He walks over to me and smiles. "Hey Rach. How you feeling?"

"Better, but something strange is happening to me."

"What is it?"

I slide off the table and show him my grey-tinted arms, my tail, and ears. "My skin is turning grey, I now have a furry tail and ears, and my eyes are gold."

Leo gazes at my eyes and seems to grow more and more amazed with every passing second. "They're beautiful," he murmurs.

I blush a little a his remark. "Oh, and I never got the chance to thank you guys for saving me, at least while I was still freaking out about what was happening." I throw my arms around Leo's neck. He seems a little taken aback at the sudden contact, but he returns the hug. "Thank Raph. He's the one who really saved you."

"Your vital signs were going critical while you were out," Donnie interjects while still typing away on his computer, "You were having some sort of anxiety attack, but….Raph got you out of it. He would hardly ever let anyone come near you."

I walk over to Raph and hug him. "Thanks Raphael." Right when I pull away, I can see his face turned as red as his mask.

"Awww!" Mikey cooes, "Big bad Raphie's blushing!" I didn't even notice him come in. Then again, he is a ninja.

Raph growls menacingly and starts to chase Mikey all over the lab while his playful young brother carelessly bounds around the room, which seems to make him angrier. All I can really do is just laugh.

"Guys! I found something!" All of us crowd around Donnie.

"After examining the sample I extracted from Rachel's bloodstream, I found another code of DNA in it. But it seems to be breaking down her cellular structure and reconfiguring it."

"Mind translating that into language we can all understand?" Leo asks.

"Her original human DNA code is undergoing mutations."

I start to panic."Wait, so I'm...mutating!?"

"It seems that all of the injections were combinations of animal DNA and were based with small amounts of...mutagen."

Mikey gasps. Raph and Leo exchange worried looks before shifting their eyes to me.

I don't quite know what to say. "What...kind of animal DNA?"

"Well...I don't know yet. There are many different possibilities and I have a number of hunches," he said as he clicked on a folder labeled "DNA Decoding" and I looked over his shoulder as he skimmed through the files.

"Give me your favorite."

He finally stops, clicks on one of the documents and compares the coding to mine on a separate window.

"It's this one. And it's a ...wolf."

"I'm going to turn into a wolf?!"

"No Rachel. No." Donnie says in a coaxing tone. "Only part of your coding is different. The rest is still your original human DNA code. If you were in there any longer and if Raph hadn't cut you loose, then who knows what other things Stockman could have done to you."

Raph smirks. "That's two you owe me, Princess." I lightly punch him back in the arm.

"But Donnie, what about the part that code hasn't changed?"

"That...may take a little longer to decrypt," Donnie replies, "But, in the meantime, I suggest-" But I cut him off!

"If you dare say rest and no training Donnie, I will SERIOUSLY break something," I say through clenched teeth,"Seriously, I've been asleep and out of action for days. Right now, the best thing for me to do IS train and prepare to go to the surface."

They all look at me with baffled expressions, and all at once, start yelling in unison. I hear a lot of "Are you crazy"s, "Not going to happen"s and "No way"s and "No your not"s.

"You are not going above ground anytime soon Rachel. And that's final," Leo says firmly.

"Yeah. As of last time, you got captured and nearly killed."

I'm not deterred. "Look you guys, the only reason I got captured by the Foot is because-"

"Because we weren't there to protect you." Donnie insists.

"No! It's because that I wasn't prepared and wasn't focused, and I wasn't trained enough to get away. I can be of use if you'd just train me and teach me skills I can use in the field. You guys can't just keep me locked away down here forever."

"Rachel," Raph says softly, "the safest place for you is down here. Especially, now that we know the Foot and the Kraang are after you, not to mention. Need I also remind you that you still don't have your memory back?"

"You too Raph!?" I immediately forget any other words, run out of the lab and into the dojo.

I walk to the center of the room and look up at the tree, growing from inside the cracks of the concrete. I sit in front of it, right in the patch of sunlight that illuminates from the ceiling, and cross my legs in the posture that Master Splinter had taught us a week ago. I close my eyes and try my best to slow my breathing. But no matter how many times I try it, I still can't focus! I bang my fists into the floor, breathing hard and my mind swimming.

"Leonardo notified me you were awake again, and that you have undergone sudden changes. I take it you feeling better now, my daughter?" I looked up to see Master Splinter standing in front of me.

I sigh and stare down at the floor. "Maybe better physically Sensei, but not mentally."

"I noticed," with that, he places his cane on the floor and sits with me. "What is it that troubles you Rachel?"

"Sensei, do you think I'm helpless?"

"You ask the wrong question."

"Well, I think I could really help the guys on patrols and missions if they just give me a chance. I'm not even hurt anymore. I should be training, but all they care about is me staying down here and resting 24/7. You always say Sensei that it takes a large amount of experience to be an effective warrior. How can I earn any experience if all I do is sit and wait around until they come home while they're out on the surface dealing with MY problems when I should be out there helping them?"

He strokes his beard. "You must understand that you are a female ninja Rachel. The word 'nin' means patience. And that is a particular virtue that you have struggled to learn."

"I've been patient for three whole weeks Sensei, yet they still think that I can't handle myself. Instead of hiding and being set aside like baggage to be called for when it's over, I should be training and honing my skills so that I can handle the obstacles that await me on the surface."

"With the Kraang, the Foot, and Shredder hunting you, your safety is our main priority."

"But I don't want to be SAFE, Sensei." I practically raised my voice. "I want to be resourceful. But they treat me like I'm worthless. Even Raph thinks I can't handle myself."

"My daughter," Splinter said gently, "Raphael does not think you are worthless. Neither do the others. You are worth more to them than you see. You are the reason that they come home alive. You give them hope because they know that if you are here, you are surely protected from the countless dangers of the surface. They simply recognize you as a part of this family, and do not wish to lose you.

I frowned. "I don't wish to lose my family again either. I've already lost the family that I once knew. Of course, I cannot miss them because I don't remember them. But I DO know that this is my family now and I want do anything I can to protect it. And I know that I can protect them if I fight with them. But I know I need a teacher. Please teach me Sensei. Train me to my best so I can fight alongside them."

"You understand that it will be difficult and you will be putting your own life at risk."

"Some things are worth the risk Sensei."

"You have my son's spirit. Passionate and selfless." He sighs heavily, but smiles as he takes my hand and helps me onto my feet. "Very well. Tomorrow, we will make it official."

"Thank you Sensei!"

He beams at me as he walks into his room and closes the door behind him.

 **What other surprises lie in wait for Rachel and her beloved turtle?**

 **Does Raph suspect Leo in trying to take his girl?**

 **Will Rachel become complete wolf?**

 **Will she get her memories back?**

 **When will she see the surface again?**

 **Please review!**


	15. Chapter 13 - One of Us

**Hey guys! As a little celebration for the beginning of my last year in high school, I've got the latest chapter for ya'll. I'll do my best to stay on top of updates, on all of my stories. I'm hoping I can finish Aberration really soon. Just a little shoutout to all of my followers who have supported this story so far. Thank you for your suggestions and encouragement! Enjoy a little bit of Raph x Rachel!**

I don't say anything as Donnie runs more tests, Leo watching over his shoulder. Raph sits quietly beside me, occasionally growling at Mikey every time he so much as dares to try and touch my ears.

"Okay Rachel, so far you check out I just need to check on more thing. I wrote a couple sentences on this piece of paper. Can you read them from where you're sitting?" He moves all the way across the room, as far as possible away from me and holds up the note.

"Tell me if you can read them."

I don't even need to squint to see the sentences written on the paper. "'We live in the sewers' is the first line. The second line says…'The associative property is opening parenthesis a+b closing parenthesis + c, equals a + opening parenthesis b + c closing parenthesis.'"

Donnie grinned awefully and wrote down more notes."Fascinating! You can see four times as far as a normal human. It's incredible."

' _Yeah. Incredible.'_ I feel more afraid than excited. Just the thought of mutagen coursing through my blood makes me uneasy. If there is one thing I understand from what Donnie told me about mutagen, its effects are dangerously unpredictable. Slash, Raph's pet turtle, tried to kill him and his family right after he turned. What if that happens to me?

Even with my back turned, I can tell Mikey is staring at my tail. Finally he can't stand it anymore and begins stroking it as if it was the softest thing in the whole world. "So Fluffy!" he chortled, tapping at my ears and watching them twitch.

"Mikey!"

"Oww! What?"

"If you had any ears Mikey, would you want someone poking at them?" Raph scolds.

"Rach, are you okay?" Donnie asks, taking my hand in both of his.

I appreciate his concern, but I'm growing tired of them asking that over and over. "Yes. I'm fine Donnie." I say pulling my hand away.

"I'm just fascinated that only part of you is mutated," says Leo.

So to top it off, I'm still clueless in finding out where I'm from, recovering my memories, and now I'm a half-human-half-wolf.

"Rachel, are you sure-"

"I'm fine Raph," I snap, walking out of the room. Half-way across the living room I stop to listen if they were following me, but I don't hear anything. I seat myself at one of the bar stools after grabbing a bottle of coke out of the fridge. I haven't drunk anything all day. It is so cold my head starts to hurt.

'Was I like this before i lost my memory? Always on edge around everyone? Not wanting to be a part of my own family?' I touch the side of my head. 'The answers are all in here.' My fingers began to move, crawling through my hair until they found the soft fur of my newly formed ears. 'Now I have these things.'

My ears prick up and my whole body tenses at the sound of footsteps emanating from right outside.

"Raph, I told you I'm fine."

"Chillax dudette. It's just me."

"Oh, Mikey. Sorry, I thought you were someone else." A friendly freckled face peeks through the curtain door.

He smiles warmingly, "It's cool." He hopped up on the stool next to me and threw his arm around my shoulders. "What's up?"

"Raph send you to check on me?

He shakes his head. "I came on my own. Thought you'd like some company."

I'd much prefer to be alone, but Mikey's kind voice and friendly smile are too inviting to resist. I smile a little, avoiding his gaze. "Thanks Mikey. I'd like that."

He frowns and cocks his head. "You okay Rach?"

"Mikey, I've turned into a wolf mutant. How do you think I feel?"

He looks up at the ceiling and taps his chin. "Hmm. Worried? Confused?...Scared? I'll bet you also think you'll lose control of yourself. And that Leo won't ever let you leave the lair."

"I used to be able to walk on the surface with normal humans. What would they think if they saw a girl walking around on the sidewalk with wolf ears on top of her head with a wagging tail? Not that it really mattered before. I was never really allowed to leave the lair anyway."

"They don't know what they're missing," He threw his arm around my shoulders. "You're one of us. And looks mean nothin' in this family. In here, you'll still be rough and tough Rachel." He placed a hand right over my heart. "Don't worry about my bros. They'll come around. But if you think they won't they won't go to the longest of lengths to keep one of our pack safe, then you've never met them before."

I know in my heart that he is very right. He's smarter and wiser than his brothers give him credit. I giggle. "I guess you're right. Rough and tough, huh? I guess this...change won't be too hard to get used to. It just makes me a lot more like you guys."

"You got that right. Besides, you're better lookin' than the rest of us. I mean, have you seen Raph lately? He could stand to lose a few pounds, couldn't he?"

I started to laughing. I knew he was just joking about what he said. Raph was more fit than anyone else, but this was the game Mikey played. And it was a fun game. "Ha ha. He could, couldn't he? Thanks Mikey. It's good to have someone to just talk to about my thoughts." I mean I talk to Leo a lot about stuff too, but he's a little more helpful on emotional debates.

Mikey nods,"No problemo. It's what I do. Say Rach, Any chance that you remember how to play...video games?"

I smirk. "Michelangelo Hamato, are you challenging me to a video game competition?!" I tried to make my voice as dramatic and threatening as I could.

Mikey crosses his arms. "Possibly."

"I don't know," I say, turning back to the counter and take another sip of Coke. The tingling sensation stung my throat, but I gulp the rest of it down as quickly as possible.

Mikey doesn't buy it. "Come on. I'm talking to Rachel, the girl who never backs down from a fight. Unless you're...afraid I'll beat you."

The smirk on my face reappeared in the form of a devious smile. "Challenge accepted."

Mikey inserts Mariokart 8 into the Wii U game console and tosses me a controller.

"We can start off with an easy level. Like Toad Harbor."

"No way. Give me something good."

"Knew you'd say that. How 'bout Bowser's Castle?"

"Perfect!"

"I'm warning you Rachel. You sure you want to enter a game with Dr Game-in-stein? I'm kind of like the high scorer on every level of every game in the entire gaming universe.

"Not for long."

In the first lap Mikey was in the lead most of the time, but I kept on his tail the entire time and into the second lap. On the final lap, he nearly bumped me into a pit of lava. Right in the homestretch, I started to speed up. I could tell Mikey was freaking out because he was using every kind of power-up to slow me down. I won!

I got up and got all in his face. "Ha! Beat ya."

Mikey looked really sad and said in a really soft tone, "I...lost."

"Oh, come on Mikey it's just a-"

Arms grabbed me and pinned me down and started tickling my sides. I laughed, twisted, and squirmed in his hold, but there was no way he was letting me go.

"Mikey!"

"Oh no! You're gonna get it now!"

"Guys?" Mikey stopped and looked at a very amused looking Leo that was staring at us both. That however, gave me the opportunity and I tackled him onto the floor.

"Hey! No fair!"

"Game's over, tough guy!"

Leo laughs. I wonder how long he'd been standing there. "You know just got your shell handed to you by a girl Mikey. Anyway, you're game's going to have to wait. Meeting in the dojo asap. And Rachel, Master Splinter told me to give his this before you join us." He holds out a small chest painted a deep reddish brown with the Hamato symbol printed in the center of the lid, surrounded with blooming cherry blossoms. "He told me tell you it's time.

Mikey got up and helped me onto my feet. "Good game Rachel. I'll beat younext time for sure. Booya-kasha." While the both of them made their way into the dojo, I took the box from Leo and headed down the hall to my room.

My hands shake as I undo the latch. Inside is a traditional Japanese kunoichi garb. It's mainly jet black with a few cherry blossoms decorating the neckline, and tinted crimson red. The same cherry blossom pattern is on the sash and the cuffs on the long trailing sleeves, with the same red lining. The Hamato Clan Symbol is embroidered on the back in silver, red, and black threads. Under all of them is a pair of black shoes and a pack of wrappings. 'Was this meant to be Miwa's when she became my age?'

I slip it on over my head, tie the sash tightly around my waist and pin my hair up in sort of a messy japanese bun. If I'm going to be officially inducted into the Hamato Clan. Even if I'm not the prissy type, I want to look my very best, because I'm well aware of their Japanese customs.

Looking at my own reflection in the body mirror, I look as if I've just received the crown jewel of Japanese fashion. A girl exquisitely dressed in a kunoichi garment, with a stern, earnest face and a fierce look gleaming in her wild eyes like an animal's. A few weeks ago, I was a broken brain dead Kraang captive. Today, I'm becoming a kunoichi of the most honorable ninja clan.

A path of cherry blossom petals illuminated by candlelights awaits me at the entrance to the dojo, leading straight up to the magnificent tree which is covered in trailing crimson ribbons and pink flowers of all kinds. 'When did they find the time to do all of this?' Raph, Donnie, and even April, who I really wasn't expecting, stands on one side of Master Splinter, standing shoulder to shoulder while Leo, Mikey, and also Casey stand directly across from them. Leo's holding a small case in his hands with a very similar design of the one my dress was in.

Raph winks at me. I smile at him, wipe away a stray tear that escapes my eye and kneel before Master Splinter under the outstretched branches of the tree.

"My family, you understand that Rachel has lived with us for some time now and has proven to be a very skilled warrior."

"Hai Sensei," They answer in unison. My tail involuntarily starts to twitch as Master Splinter continues.

"Her level of skill is the very highest, as for someone who has trained herself. She has consulted with me and is prepared to make a very grave commitment. To learn fully the ways of the kunoichi and become a devoted member of the Hamato Clan." My ears hang on every word he says. "After careful consideration…"

All of them lean in to hear his resolution; If Mikey moves so much as an inch, he would fall flat on his face.

"...I've decided that she is ready to move on to the next level of her training."

I can hear my own heart beating several times fasterthan normal, and I could tell that the guys felt the same way. Mikey is trembling with excitement.

"She will participate in daily night patrols and private training sessions with Leonardo and I. Where she goes on from there will be entirely up to her. If she chooses to continue to move through the ranks, it will be based on her results as being part of a unit."

He looks me hard in the face and gives me the 'If you break this vow, you're screwed' stare. "Rachel, you have taken upon yourself to be a member of this family, have you not?"

"Yes."

"You selflessly commit your love and your loyalty to this clan and its members."

"Yes."

"Will you at all costs, through peace and war, living or dying, protect this family, its friends, and its allies?"

I took a deep breath and tried to not let my voice tremble so much. "I do."

"Will you never, by your own blade, ever spill the blood of your brothers or sisters?"

"I will."

He nods to Leo and he opens the little case. Out of it, Master Splinter presents a small silver medallion with the Hamato crest engraven on it in black, gently placing it around my neck. Then he reached into the box again.

He presents with the utmost dignity, a dark crimson colored mask, like mahogany. Every movement is perfect, as if he'd done it a thousand times, and he ties the fabric around my head. Raphael steps forward and hands him a tanto knife. Bowing his head, the rat master lays it into my hands. A rampant dragon dances across the silver blade. A dragon tanto!

"Accept these gifts in verity of your promise, your devotion, and your love to our family. Rachel, you are now a kunoichi...of the Hamato Clan."

"Thank you Sensei." More than anything, I want to hug him and thank him a thousand times for all of the things that he's done for me. Once he bows to me, I'm showered with congratulations, hugs from everyone, and a kiss from Raphael. Casey looks a little surprised and indignant, but I don't care.

"Well done, princess," Raph whispers into my ear, "You made it this far."

"And I intend to keep going farther. You're not getting rid of me anytime soon."

My beloved pearl-handled sword and tanto silently tap against my hip as we run, the noise of dripping water echoing throughout the tunnels from every direction. Thanks to these new ears of mine, I can hear ten times more than I did before. However, the one sound I'm really focused on is Leo's voice guiding our small entourage through the sewer. With every passing minute, my patience wears thinner and thinner. We've been running for nearly ten minutes and he's made no motion to climb up any of the ladders that we've passed.

"Why haven't we stopped?" I ask Raph over my shoulder in an irritably sort of way.

As if he understands exactly what I'm thinking, he answers, "Don't worry Rach. You'll get your share of the action soon enough."

"But-"

"And yes. You'll get to punch someone in the face, probably more than once."

I hide a smirk under the red cloth of my mask. 'Great! Been dying to beat a little sunshine into some Purple Dragons. Or even better-Foot soldiers.'

I'm so caught up in my own thoughts that I almost don't notice Leo, who has gone several paces ahead into the next corridor, signaling for me to follow him.

We finally come to a halt at one of the series of ladders. I honestly don't understand how he kept track of which ones lead where. Although, I guess by the scuff marks on the rungs that this must be one of their most common patrol routes.

"Allow me," Raph chortles with a hint of mischief in his voice and without waiting for a response, I'm lifted off the ground into his arms bridal style. I hold onto him as he carries me up the ladder.

"Well aren't you just a gentleman. Is this some kind of special occasion?"

"Well, it is your first night on the surface. I figured you should travel in style," and with that, he plants a small kiss on my forehead.

Once Leo had lifts the man-hole cover and climbs out, Raph follows him to the next row of rungs, still holding me in his arms. Turning my gaze upwards as we climb, it seems like forever since I've seen the glittering buildings and bustling busy streets of the city. I take a deep breath, the first breath of fresh air I've had in weeks of being stuck below in the musty smelling sewer. I had grown used to it overtime, but it didn't dampen my longing to breath the fresh air again.

Unfortunately, I don't have much time to admire the scenery. After all, we're up here to work. When we reach the top, Raphael sets me gently back on the ground again.

"Alright Leo, I'll bite. What's the plan?"

"Now that you're one of us, you need to learn ropes of patrol and surveillance on the surface. I understand that this is your first time, but I've chosen this route specifically to challenge the extent of your new mutant abilities."

"Which means?"

"It means that we're much more likely to run into thugs and criminals this way."

I cock an eyebrow at him, my hands on my hips."Sooo let me get this straight. First you're trying your very best to protect me and now you're placing me in the smack dead center of danger. Makes perfect sense. Why don't I leap from a precipice and count on someone to catch me?"

Mikey and Raph both stifle a laugh, which quickly turns into a coughing fit when his brother shoots them a glare.

Leo smiles and places a hand on my shoulder. I swear that I can feel Raph's stare burning holes into the back of my head the moment that Leo touches me.

"Yes, because I know the best way for you to gain experience is how you learn best. On the job."

"Sounds good to me."

"Woah Leo. Hold up," Donnie says stepping between us, "What if something happens to her? Are you really sure this is safe?"

"No, but since when have we ever done anything safe?"

Donnie is taken aback. "Touche."

"But you must remember Rachel that we're here to stop conflict, not rile more up."

"Yeah yeah Leo, I get it! Can we get going already?"

He then steps aside and gestures to the roof edge. "After you."

I lead our way across the buildings, with Leo's instruction of where to go. Raph runs on my other side with Mikey and Donnie in tow behind.

It's a very clear night. The moon's so bright that it casts shadows and makes the roofs glow a deep blue; which makes it all the easier to navigate through the maze. If we were at ground level, the glow would have dimmed against the golden light of the unceasingly lit lampposts that dotted the streets. As we run, I cannot help but think about the beauty of the night that the people below are missing. A breathtaking sight to be seen right over their heads, blotted out by the envious city lights. As much as I miss fighting, training, and patrolling, I missed the fascinating view of the world above the sewers. The wind in my face. The energy coursing through my body. The blood rushing in my ears

I'm startled from my thoughts by Raphael, who looks as if he's running out of breath.

"Rachel. You sure...you're sure you don't...want to stop? Aren't you...tired?"

"No. Why? Are you? We haven't been running that long."

"Rachel," Raph mutters, looking dumbfounded, "We've been running...for three hours."

I stop so abruptly at the edge of the roof, the ground under my foot gives way and strikes air! Then my other! For a split second, I'm seconds away from falling onto the pavement below! A hand shoots out and grabs me by the arm! It's Leo Leo pulls me onto the rooftops. "Careful Rach! If you're going to patrol with us, you'll have to avoid falling off buildings."

It takes me a moment for me to catch my breath before I can respond. "Dually noted. How have we been running for three hours?!"

"I think I know why," says Donnie, still huffing a little between breaths, "Natural wolves can run for very long distances at about five miles per hour without getting tired. She can run for a long time before taking a rest."

"Look's like we all need a break. We'll take a rest here," Leo orders before posting himself on top of an AC unit to keep watch. Mikey hangs upside down on the side of the billboard while Donnie sits underneath him and swatting at him everytime he tries to mess with him. Raph sits beside me, polishing his sai with his fingers. I don't stay in one place for long and post away from everyone else on the opposite side of our vantage point. I'm shortly joined again by the red-masked turtle, but I don't look at him.

"So princess, what do you think of it so far?"

"To be honest, kinda boring. I wouldn't have thought it would be this quiet. No sign of the Foot, the Kraang, or even the Purple Dragons. For three hours. I guess I should be happy that it's like that, but what's the fun of protecting a city if you don't get a scar out of it?"

He gives a short laugh. "I know, right? But you know, I wouldn't be too sure. You never know what you'll find out here at late hours. Believe me when I say that every patrol always has its own surprise, mostly when you least expect it."

He turns my face up towards his, cupping my cheek. I want to look away, but he wouldn't let me. "Stop worrying," he says against my lips. I'm surprised that he's being this open about me being his girlfriend with his brothers present. I resist and break away for a moment.

"I'm not w-" He stops me with another kiss. Suddenly, I stop thinking so much and I let him lead. His mouth moves against mine as I grant him entrance, our tongues dancing together. He pulls me closer and nibbles at my lip to tease me.

"Ugh! What's with you guys?" I hear Mikey complain, but Raph makes no motion to stop. My fingers tangle in his mask tails, rubbing the worn strip of cloth between them. With no sign that he would let go, I tighten my grip and deepen the kiss. I breath in his warm feral scent, enveloped in his muscular arms.

We break apart at the sound of loud voices and the crash of metal hitting the ground a few clicks away.

"What'd I tell you?" Raph chuckles.

Several of the buildings we cross over look abandoned; with broken windows and crumbling walls. I can't imagine running into any trouble, but this is New York City where mutant turtles are reality. Anything is possible.

Down in the alley below us, three familiar gangster guys corner an elderly man against the wall of a dead-end.

Leo looks over to me. "Rach, You're up. Raph will watch you from the shadows. Think you can handle it?"

I smirk, stretching my arms and pulling the covering of my mask over my face. "Well, we'll see. If I can't handle a gang of third class wanna-bes, then I'm more out of shape than I thought."

I climb silently down the fire escape, completely concealed in the shadows. Raph's breath tickles my ear as he leans in over shoulder. "Hey Rach, how 'bout a little warning shot to catch their attention?" Reaching into my belt, I pick out a small blade, letting it fly through the air and whizz right past one of the guy's head. Clearly it makes slight contact when the guy looks around and sees the blade stuck fast in the wall.

"Yo Fong! Didja see that?" The guy I'd barely missed withdraws my kunai and turns the other two thugs' attention away from the old man, who turns tail and runs the moment they let their guard down.

"Man, what was that for?! Now we lost our only pay for tomorrow!"

"And what are you going to do with a wallet of money? Fill up on booze and get drunk?"

They all turn in my direction at the same time.

"It's that little vigilante girl!"

Their leader Fong steps forward. "Well well. What do you know? Maybe tonight isn't a total loss. You're about to see a little girl get pummeled."

"Ha. Say, nice wolf costume," one of the others jeers, "Think it's a little early for halloween?"

"You thugs have no idea who you're dealing."

"Hmm, well I do know one thing. You're are outnumbered. There's three of us and only one of you."

I draw my katana and look at my own reflection in the blade. "And I know something too. You jerks are asking trouble. You want to get butts handed to you by a girl, come get some."

"You're the one asking for trouble girly. How about we finish what we started?"

"Ladies first."

Fong charges me, but is too slow. I dodge his punch, jab him in the gut and hit him on the shoulder with the buttend of my katana.

"Who's next?" The other two circle me. Both run at me at the same time. I push off of the ground, and midair kick them both upside of the head. But they don't go down. They charge at me again. Ducking between them, I tripped one with my foot and slicing the other's heel. A painful sound of bone cracking against rock resounded as one hits his head hard on the concrete while the other falls on his wrist, cringing painfully and clenching it to his chest. Fong lets out a painful moan, but doesn't move. One of the larger guys stumbles back onto his feet, holding his hand over his nose and blood dripping down his face. He aims a roundhouse kick at my face and throws a few weak dragon punches, but I dodge them all with ease. Hitting away his arm and seizing his leather jacket, I fling him forward into the others.

The guys dropped down from their perches. Mikey danced around me, laughing and cheering.

"Yeah boy! You were on fire Rachel! They were all 'You're gonna get it!' and you were all 'you don't know who you're dealing with!' That was awesome!"

"Nice work princess," Raph said, ruffling my hair.

"Excellent job Rachel." said Donnie, "We should have her patrol with us more often Leo."

"You made it look too easy," Leo smiled.

"It's really no big deal. Beating Purple Dragons is like beating a video game on easy mode. If it's like this every night, I'm gonna get bored really fast."

"Don't get too cocky Rach. It always gets harder." Leo replies, "Purple Dragons are one thing, but Foot Bots and Kraang are a whole other ballgame."

"What's to know? Kraang are simple. You hit them until the brainy toy surprise pops out. Footbots? You slice and dice'em and be back home in time for dinner. It's that easy."

Leo rolls his eyes. "We'll see. Let's see how well you do against some Foot soldiers."

"You're on."


	16. Chapter 14 - Puzzles and Proposals

**Hey guys! I'm so so sorry for such a long hold up for updates. School has started and I've been very sick for three weeks now with a pile of makeup work. Please excuse my slow progress with updates. For those of you who have stuck with me this far, thank you for your support. And as a reward for your patience, I have a spoiler...(thanks to the suggestions of a follower ;) ),...to be revealed at the end of the chapter (I know you guys must hate me right now, but please hold it until the end!) Though I have to be honest, this chapter is a little more of a filler, but I hope you guys like it anyway.**

"I love you

For all that you are

All that you have been

And all that you are yet to be."

I lightly gripped my katana, lighter than before as I was instructed to give the blade a little more flow, my ears and tail twitching wildly as I waited for the signal to begin. Silently, I charged at the dummy figure on my mental map, this time lighter on my toes. In one fluid movement, my feet sprang off the ground and sailed over my head, the steady slicing sound of splintering wood signaling that the blade had made contact. As I landed perfectly on the ground, completing my attack I removed my blindfold to see that it had cut clean through the middle of the wooden head. Both pieces fell to the floor in equal shares.

"Yame!" Splinter ordered, the same tint of annoyance in his voice, which only made my confidence fade almost instantly. "You did not follow all of the way through, Rachel. Again!

"What did I do wrong this time?"

"Right as you lept you hesitated, which can leave you vulnerable. Now….Again!"

I suppress a groan as I tie the cloth over my eyes and get into position again as he replaces the dummy. With some adjustment in my speed and spring in my jump, I repeat the same move.

"Yame! There is not enough intention in your strike. Do it again."

"Again?" I whine, ripping off my blindfold, "Sensei I've done this move 600 times. What is one small second's difference in speed or length of a jump going to matter?"

"More than you think," Right then he turns on me with such a grave expression that I immediately realize that I was shouting at him.

"I'm sorry Sensei, but I don't understand. When are you going to teach me more advanced katas? I've been doing this move since I started training. I was hoping that I could proceed to the next grade."

He then smirks and strokes his beard. "Well then my student, shall I reiterate your request for me to train you to the highest extent of your abilities? If you cannot master this level of fighting, then you most certainly cannot move on."

"I remember perfectly, but I fail to see where I'm failing at that, Sensei. It's different when you have five times the strength and eight times the agility of a normal human. These new abilities are hard to control, like two sides of my brain are telling me to do exactly the opposite of what I should be doing. My thoughts almost _refuse_ to match my actions."

The old rat nodded slowly, "I understand, but I'm sorry to say that training your mind is almost entirely beyond my skill. I have the ability to train your body, but I can only advise you. You must discipline your mind yourself."

I frowned and stared at my reflection in my blade. "In all honesty, I'm not sure if I can. I can barely keep a level head in a fight, like a voice in my head is urging me to do otherwise. What's more, it keeps presenting me with more unanswerable questions."

"Ah, you speak of your parents," he murmured in a low voice,"You miss them?"

"Well….no actually. I can't miss them because I don't remember them. I just….wish I could figure out who they were."

He moved closer to me, looking me straight in the eyes. "Hold on to hope. You have faith in my son Donatello, do you not?"

"Yes Sensei, of course I do."

"Then trust that he will find a solution, for that is all that you can do for now except hope. Yet you should also keep in mind that what you wish to happen may not come to pass as you may expect."

"Are you saying...that I may never see my parents again?"

He sighed and closed his eyes. "It is impossible to tell at the present, but I advise that you be open to the possibilities, my daughter."

I am prepared to ask more questions, but stop myself. What he said is very true, but it doesn't erase the awful burning sensation of doubt in the pit of my stomach. Anyway, I want to avoid anymore talk on sensitive subjects and I decide not to press him further. "Hai Sensei."

"You are dismissed. We will resume later," he says smiling as he retreats into his room. I sheath my katana and set it in its place on the weapons wall. With nothing else to do, I head into the pit where Mikey is lounging on his bean bag with his usual slice of pizza and weekly Crognard the Barbarian Marathon playing on the TV.

"Hey Mikey."

"What up Angelcakes?" He chuckles, turning in my direction.

"Again with the nickname Mikey?"

"Hehe yeah! What's up?"

"I just finished my lesson with Sensei. Where is everyone else?"

"You know, the usual. Donnie's doing science stuff in lab with April and Leo's in his room meditating and being boring."

"April's here? Hey, keep in mind mediating is the only way that I've been able to retrieve snatches of my memories. It's anything but boring."

"Oh yeah right. Sorry. Yeah, Donnie mentioned something about you. They're working on April's crazy psychic powers to divert to...do something or other. I kinda tuned out when Donnie did his whole sciencey science blah blah blah thing."

I laugh and then move to sit beside him, something immediately soaking into my sock. On the floor are several small puddles of water and broken plastic, hinting that something went down earlier.

"Uh...What about Raph?"

"You mean Mr. I Can't Take a Joke? Topside with the Case-Man.

"On the surface? But why would they be up there while it's still daylight?"

"Who knows? Who knows what those two boneheads do?"

"I'd better go check on them."

"Why? No worries Rach. They're big boys. They can handle themselves."

"There's just as high a possibility that they can get themselves in trouble. I'm going."

"Rachel, they'll be fine," he says, getting up and following me into the dojo.

"Please Mikey, "I plead, "It would make me feel a whole lot better to know that they're okay."

He sighs as he looks at the floor and then smiles at me. "Well then, I guess that settles it," he giggles, picking his pairs of nunchucks up off the wall.

"What settles what?"

"You know my bros would be ticked if I let you go alone, right? I have an awesome memory dudette, and last time you went alone, you ended up gettin' caught."

"Tell me something I don't know. Thanks Mikey," I coe and give him a quick peck on the cheek, which instantly makes him start blushing.

"Hehe. Anytime Angelcakes." He swings his nunchucks around, doing a little bow to me and snatching a hand-full more smoke bombs off the wall; as if he doesn't already have enough. Then again he's Mikey.

My favorite black beanie covers my ears and my tail I stuff into my jeans. It is uncomfortable, but unless I want to risk getting a press report filed about a mutated teenage girl with wolf ears and a tail wandering the streets of New York City, it is only the safest thing to do. My katana would draw too much attention in daylight, so I take a pack of throwing knives and secure it to my belt. My blue shirt covers it almost completely and the sleeves hide the kunai that I have in the wrappings on my hands. I even take the liberty to hide a few in my hair.

"Hey dudette. You know we're just going on a quick run through to find my bro, not an infiltration mission right? You can dumb the need for some many blades down a notch."

"Says the turtle with over fifty smoke-bombs in his belt. Come on, before anyone notices we're gone."

Even though I've only left the lair a few times, it is fairly easy to find my way around the tunnels. Either way, Mikey doesn't seem to mind me leading the way. I trudge along the walk, trying not slip on any of the debri that litters the ground as I finally reach the ladder to the route that we had just taken the night before.

When I first poke my head out of the man-hole, the cover slams back down as I duck my head out of the light.

"Everything cool up there?" Mikey calls from below me.

"Sorry Mikey. I've just...it's been several weeks since I've seen the sun."

"Totally understand. Your eyes will adjust. Let's find the guys."

I lift the cover again, taking special care not to drop it this time as Mikey climbs out after me. Thankfully, the alley we're in is completely enclosed and hopefully no one heard the crash. The shadows are scarce, which leaves the rooftops as the safest route to take.

The city that never sleeps seems more alive than ever, and no less crowded; people, honking cars, and stray dogs and cats rooting through the garbage for a decent meal. A mom tugging her young child along as he tried to look at the assortment of brand new toys in one of the decorated windows. A middle-aged man with a briefcase in one hand and taking a collect call on his cell phone in the other. A young couple holding hands as they strolled down the sidewalk, the girl holding a rose with a white ribbon tied around it.

It all looks so different in the daylight, and honestly I haven't seen the sunlight ever since I arrived, except occasionally through the storm grate in the dojo; my only gateway in the lair to the outside world. Anyway, it was quite a relief to finally feel it again.

"Okay Mikey. You know Raph a little better than I do. Where would he go?"

"Easy! Chinatown. Purple Dragon territory. You know how he and Casey are."

"Then that's where we start."

Mikey runs beside me, cracking a joke every few minutes to try and break up the silence. Most of the time I just reply with a grunt; can't say that I'm in the mood for joking. The aching sensation that I felt at the end of my lesson hasn't gone away, and the continually growing fear that something has happened to them only feeds the coals.

About three leaps away is a building decorated with neon signs and a windows that reveal crowds of people dancing and having fun. People with beer bottles and some seem to have not an inch of uninked skin anywhere on their bodies.

Mikey turns up his nose in disgust at the scene; a face that I've not seen him show very frequently. "Come on Rach. Let's ditch this place. They're not here." I follow him without thinking twice. Anything to get away from the thoughts about drinking, drugs, and crappy relationship fluff.

Just then my phone vibrates. A text from Raph!

Raph: _Rach! Where are you!?"_

Rachel: _Looking for you and Casey. Couldn't help but notice that you knuckleheads picked the worst time to go to the surface. How'd you know I was gone?_

Raph: _Leo was smart enough to shoot me a text that you'd left the lair. What the shell were you thinking Rachel!?_

Rachel: _Hey, I'm fine._

Raph: _Are you alone? Do you seriously want a repeat of what happened last time you went topside without someone?!_

I couldn't help but laugh at how freaked out he seemed.

Rachel: _Chill out Tough Guy. Mikey's with me. What were you two doing at this time of day?_

Raph: _Go home Rachel. We'll meet you back at the lair_ , practically ignoring my last text. _I'll explain when I get there. There's something I need to tell you. Be careful Princess._

Rachel: _The same goes for you Hothead._

"Come on Mikey."

"Uh, weren't we just looking for Raph?"

"He just texted me. He'll be at the lair to meet us."

"Whatever you say Rach!" He snickers, showing off a little by doing several flips in the air and landing perfectly on the ground level.

The both of us run as quickly as we can back to the lair.

With the young orange-masked turtle following at my tail (literally), we finally arrive at the row of turnstiles that act as the doorway to the lair, where we are greeted with a smirking Casey Jones and a less-than-pleased-looking Leo and Raph. (Mostly Leo.)

They don't say anything as we approach; they just stare at us as if they are parents looking down on two young children who had snuck off into a nightclub.

I look at them both as if I'm stuck in the dark, which I am.

"What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"So, where you been Rachel?" Casey pipes with a small wink in my direction, which makes Raph send him a warning to back off.

"Good question Casey." He gestures expectantly to me. "Well…?"

"What are the both of you driving at?"

Raph's eyes are nearly popping out of their sockets with surprise. "Well, what the shell do you think?"

"That I was worried for the both of you," I say, crossing my arms and indicating Casey and Raph.

"Yeah dude, cut Rachel a break. She was concerned about you and believe me. I tried to stop her."

"Appreciate it Mikey, but that isn't an excuse. Rachel, you could have been hurt. What compelled you to go up there in broad daylight in the first place?"

"Apparently, the same thing that compelled you hotheads to do the same."

"Sooo," Casey murmures, raising an eyebrow, "You were worried about us? Or just me?" Raph jabs him in the ribs, to quiet him for the moment.

Both Leo and he look at the other, but I can't really tell from their faces what they are communicating through the silent motion.

"You had no business going topside without telling us, or even Sensei," Leo replies firmly, "You need to be smart when it comes to decisions like this Rachel, unless you've forgotten what occurred last time..."

I glare at him, daring him say more, but he doesn't the moment he locks onto my gaze. His expression changes from irritated to sympathetic.

"At least I wasn't alone," I snap back, "Mikey was with me. Does that make you feel better? Is it my turn to ask questions?" Without waiting for an answer, I point at Raph. "What is it that was so important that you and your hard-headed pal risked being seen in broad daylight?

Raph draws back and suddenly finds an interest in the floor, as if he is embarrassed. What would he be embarrassed about? Leo stares him down as if searching for an answer, but doesn't seem to find one.

"You could say…" Casey simpers, "...it's a top secret project that me and Raph are working on." He looks at me with an expectant grin and as much as I glare at him, he just seems to grow more and more intrigued.

Leo eyes them both suspiciously and then turns back to me with a sign."Well, it'll have to wait until dark. I'm going to let Sensei know that Rachel is back."

We all watch as he retreats into the dojo. Sometimes I really didn't understand that boy. Does he like me or something? I love how much he cares about me, but even after the successful recon mission last night, Leo still seems uneasy about my 'decisions.' That was completely uncalled for, bringing my capture by the Foot into the conversation. Mikey hurries past us and to Leo's side as they both disappear into the dojo.

Raph looks to Casey and nods as if he's giving some kind of signal. Casey smiles and picks up his pack of hockey gear. "Well, I'd better book. Hockey practice. You cool for tonight Raph?"

Raph nods with a scowl. "I'm going to do it. You'd better be there Jones."

"Wouldn't miss it. Later Rach," he waves, but I don't. Some guys really don't know how to take a hint.

Once he is gone, Raph steps forward towards me.

"Look, I'm sorry. Mikey told me that you were gone and I was just worried...especially after...you know, what happened."

He nods and smiles at me. "It's okay. He comes closer and hugs me. It is a little sudden, but reassuring. As I lean into him and press my head into his shoulder, his breath tickles my skin as he whispers in my ear, "I'm sorry...if I scared you."

"It's okay. Just a heads up saying that you're leaving would be nice."

He pulls away just enough to look me in the eye, his hands still clasped around my waist."I wanted to, but Sensei had you in the middle of a lesson."

I cock my head at him with a smile. "Sooo, what was the real reason that you were topside at this hour, hmm?"

All of the sudden his eyes start to dart from side to side.

He stutters and lets go of me, rubbing the back of his head.

"Um, Rach?"

"Yes?"

"I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Well, all I can really say is dress really nice and...meet me at the second man-hole on the right turn down the left flank."

A huge grin creeps into my face. I think I understand what he is meaning to say, but I want to know for sure. I play him further.

"Aaaand why would I need to do that?"

"What-what I meant to say was...Um...Would you Rach...Um Rachel...would you…?

"Yes?

" Even though I could tell what he was going to say, it sent warm heat waves down my spine.

"It's...it's just...I realized today that...well, I'd never really officially asked you...um-"

I shush him with my fingertips, reaching around his neck and playing with the ragged tips of his blood red bandana. "Hamato Raphael, are you asking me out on a date?"

He was grins mischievously at me from ear to ear."It would...seem that way," he cooes in that sexy voice of his. Deep, rich, and... _intoxicating._

 **Well there you have it! Raph asked her out on a date. Sorta.**

 **What do you think?**

 **What kind of plans does Raph have for their "interesting" night together?**

 **Will everything go as planned?**

 **Don't forget to comment, fav/like for more romance, action, and suspense! Your support is greatly appreciated! ^^**

 **And now….for the SPOILER!**

 ****drumroll please** Across the Ten Dimensions…...will be continued in a sequel! The adventures of RachelxRaph will be continued in a second book. I don't have any predictions as to when it will be released yet, but please stay tuned, for more romance and love fluff in Across the Ten Dimensions! Stay cool and keep on rockin.'**


	17. Chapter 15 - Among the Stars

**Hey turtle fans! What's up?! Got another chap just for you! Unfortunately, it'll be a while before I can post another. School is taking over and I'll need to put more focus on my studies, though honestly I hate that it's taking so much time away from my writing. I'll still update, but they will be slow. Cut the jibber jabber, enjoy another chapter of Across the Ten Dimensions!**

"Hold still Rach!" April orders, lacing back the strings of the dress as tight as she possibly could, "I can't tie them right when you jump around like Mikey after he's had coffee."

"I can't help it! It doesn't suck in any further April! It's too tight," I yell breathlessly. Unfortunately, I am not what someone would call skinny and the dress I'm trying on is made for someone who has a twig of a torso. But April insisted I try it on and is not letting me out until I do. Like she could keep me inside my room, even if she really wanted to.

Finally, she lets the strings hang free and I can breath again. "Well, that's another throw away." She tosses it into the pile of ones we had already tried and immediately starts rummaging for another one. "Nothing seems to fit you just right. Seriously Rachel, you're impossible to find a dress for."

"Hey it's not like I've been to a school dance 27 times." Yet again, she is right. I have no sense of fashion. I almost never wear mascara because my eyelashes are already extremely dark. As far as I go with clothes, a long sleeve shirt and a black hoodie suit me anytime I'm ever patrolling or training. Part of me thinks that this is ridiculous, wondering about what awaits me when I meet Raph up on the surface around midnight. April is really the only one I could ask about dates and how to dress for them. I didn't even plan on wearing anything but my kunoichi garb, but she had already made other plans. "Where exactly did you get all of these?"

"My father made sure that I had _good experiences_ in middle school and then into high school, even went a little over the top for. I felt for sure that one would work. Another bust. Not offense Rachel, but out of all the girls I know, you have the hardest shape to match a dress."

"None taken. I'd expect it to be hard to find something for a teenager that's also a mutant." Within a week of my rescue from that freaky science lab, my skin had turned a darker shade of grey and my ears had grown out farther so that they stuck up right out of my hair. Whenever I went up top with Casey and April, which was a rare privilege, I stuffed my bushy tail into my pants and I'd cover my ears with a beanie or pin them down under my thick hair. It hindered my hearing a little, but my hair is thick enough to conceal them. Besides my tail and skin, my body seemed to take effect from the mutagen additives as well. My entire body, though I still looked like a normal teen, had changed. My structure and torso was stockier, leaner, and I was almost as tall as Leo. Donnie said he couldn't say for sure if this was the full effect of the injected mutagenic mixtures, but I was relieved when he told me that I checked out alright to train and patrol. I could not survive another week secluded in the lair without getting a sniff of air.

"I love your new look,"April replied, searching through the pile of dresses we hadn't tried yet, "Your mutation gave you some really cool gifts. At least you still have your teenage girl look like me. Many of the mutants we encounter are not that attractive. The only other exception is that regular human clothes just don't seem to match you like mine. How about this one?"

She holds up a long black dress that reaches down to the ankles with pink and white flowers decorating the hem, neckline, and the bottom up.

I shake my head. "A little too girly for me. Do you have anything a little shorter?"

She taps her chin. "Hmm. I think I can find something like that." Snapping her fingers she starts searching again. "Seriously I still can't believe that Raph asked you on a date. Well, it was obvious enough after all."

"Obvious how?"

She gives me a look. "Are you telling me that with those incredibly sensitive ears and killer wolf awareness that you never noticed? I saw. I saw the way he always snuck glances at you, the way he looked at you. It just surprises me that the hotheaded, closed off, tough guy actually opened up to a girl."

"Raph's not like that." Sure, he was edgy around me when I first met him; Who wouldn't be around a stranger that they knew nothing about that started living with them? Quiet, yes he was. But a hard-hearted recluse? No. Not Raph. At least, he wasn't that way around me anymore.

"He was before you came along. He took an interest to you the moment he looked at you and adjusted to you several times faster than me. It took him a long while to just get used to me being around when I visited them after school to hang out. I've never seen him so social and comfortable around a newbie in the lair. Almost as if you cast a spell on him."

I can't help laughing. "Haha. A spell huh?" My memory flashes back to the times he almost never spoke a word to me when I walked into the room. I remember him stealing glances at the breakfast table; even when I didn't have enhanced razor sharp vision, I was well aware that he was watching me all the while, training in dojo or sleeping in my room. I guess I should think it is creepy, but I honestly don't.

"You should've seen him. He'd look at me, shrug and then walk off. Only on rare occasions, during the most dire and serious situations, did he ever physically display his real affection and love for his family and friends."

My head starts to swim with pictures again, but the moment is brief. "I may not remember who it was, but can understand how hard it was to tell him 'I love you'."

"But the deal was he didn't even have to say it though because he let his actions speak for themselves. Just because he never says it to anyone it doesn't mean that he doesn't love them."

"I understand that now," I tugs at my hair, "I just hope that me being here doesn't arouse any trouble."

"What are you talking about?" April stops rummaging and turned to face me again.

"The Kraang wanted me for some strange reason and now the turtles are trying to fix my problems for me. Now that I live with them, and since I possibly like like one of them and our enemies know about it, he and everyone else could be in danger. And something about what you said….about actions speaking for themselves. I'm not sure what it is, but I can't help but get a feeling that some kind of tension is loose in the lair right now."

"I comprehend you feeling guilty for bringing a new….obstacle into their lives. Believe me, I felt the same way. Yet after that, you kind of lost me. What do you mean tension?"

"Like me living here may pose any sort of danger to my family. Really April, if they find us and if something happens to them…or him…."

"Is that all? That's not the only thing bothering you, is it?"

I shake my head. "If Donnie finds a way to retrace my home dimension, what then? What will they do when I'm gone? And what about Raph? He'll be heartbroken and be tempted to go back being cold and hiding his feelings from everyone."

She looks like she's about to say something, but then closes her mouth and touches her hand to her chin; the same way Donnie would when he was thinking really hard. They may not know it, but they are more alike than they realize. "Hmm. Tough one. Master Splinter often says that many things are out of your control, but you still have the opportunity to make your own decisions about what you choose to do when your motives and true aspirations are put to the test. I may not be able to see into the future, but there's one thing that's perfectly clear to me. You ultimately have the choice to decide what is most important to you and what you will do when their fate is at stake."

I smile. It feels great to have another girl to relate to, especially one that's shared similar obstacles and difficulties as me. "Master Splinter sure taught you some valuable lessons. He should've made you a star student."

"He already has one," she says, returning to her search in the overflowing sea of dresses. "You."

"Me? I'm just a student. If anything, Leonardo is his star student."

"That's not what he tells me. Okay, if this one doesn't satisfy you, then I don't know what will."

As she stands and turns round, a magnificent dress emerges from the stack! She holds out a strapless red dress with every different shade of bright and crimson red that burned up and down the skirt and torso from the waist line as if it's engulfed in flames. Tied around the middle is a pitch black silk sash christened with a black and red beaded, scorched rose, its burning petals flickering upward over the front until they turn to black ashes. In her other hand she holds a matching flower hair piece.

I must look hilarious because April immediately starts to laugh her head off. "I'm guessing you like it?"

"April, where the heck did you get a dress like that?!"

"My first prom. I kept it on me incase I'd ever wear it to a dance again."

"Well, for a sassy little kunoichi in training, you sure have great taste in girl's fashion."

"Then what are you waiting for? Try it on before you grow out of it!"

When I slip it on, it feels incredibly comfortable; much more than the others I'd tried. The skirt swishes around my legs like the dancing lights of burning coals as I twirl. When I look at myself in the mirror, I freeze stiff-still, staring at my now glowing golden eyes looking back at me through the glass. The only feature that I recognize as my own.

"I think we found you the perfect dress."

"Chill out dude," Casey giggled as Raphael continued to zip and unzip his leather jacket as he paced back and forth nervously, ignoring his pal's attempts to reassure him,"Geez, I never thought you could get this nervous. Trust me, she's gonna love it."

"I'm fine Casey. Ya sure everything's ready?"

The young black-haired teen laughed as he leaned up against the newly polished stealth bike, sticking his hands in his pockets and receiving an unamused growl from the red-masked turtle. "You've asked me that question over 13 times and the answer is still…."and his words trail off for before he finally said, "Yes." Raph could sense her presence, tightening his bandana and taking a deep breath before slowly turning his gaze behind; only to be awestruck by the form staring back at him.

For a second, he doesn't recognize her. Whoever she was, she was no 'girl' nor 'mutant.' The creature in his eyes that emerged from the shadows was an angel, with long red locks that had been cleansed of any kind of imperfection, arranged atop her head, and cascaded over her right shoulder like a glistening waterfall of pure rubies; her long wolf ears having disappeared beneath it. Her beautiful face and her dark, golden wild eyes gleaming with anticipation and longing, topped off with her wide red smile. How he longed to kiss them and make her his own. The whimsical flames that fluttered and flickered around her slender form resembled the feathers of a bird. No, not just a bird. A majestic bird. A Phoenix.

"You're looking sharp." Her voice bringing him back down to earth again, he shook his head as he thought of how stupid he must have looked.

"You look hot." She immediately began to blush furiously and studied her high-heeled boots. He then gestured to the seat of the motorcycle and offered a bright red helmet to her. "Ladies first."

The girl smiled even wider as she took it. "Such a gentlemen. It's beautiful."

"Have fun you two," Casey chuckled.

"We plan to Jones. We plan to."

For the first few minutes, we ride into the slow and busy sea of traffic, weaving in between the endless lines of cars and trucks wherever possible. After hiding in the dark for so long, the blinding watchful lights of the city that never sleeps only add to the excitement of the rush.

Raph finally brings the bike to a halt at a small shop with a sign that reads "Murakami's Noodles," but my date doesn't seem to care that we were parking right out in the open. Without taking off his helmet, he starts to towards the entrance of the noodle shop.

"Raph, what the heck are you doing? I'm definitely not complaining, but aren't we supposed to stay in the shadows?"

"Geez Rachel, you're starting to sound like my older brother. Relax, the guy here knows us, and he just so happened to do the honors of preparing our take-out for the evening."

"Hmm. Nice." I followed him in, my bright new helmet tucked under my arm. Raph, for obvious reasons, leaves his on. The shop wasn't very large, but it was simple and cozy.

"Rachel, meet the most talented cook in the city. Mr. Murakami." A kind-faced blind man standing behind the front counter greets us both with a smile and an extended hand to me, which I shake gratefully.

Having been studying more language with Master Splinter, I decided to give my lessons a try. "Kon'nichiwa murakami shi. Anata no sensei o mitasu tame ni ōkina yorokobidesu. (Hello Mr Murakami. It is a pleasure to meet you sir.)"

"Kon'nichiwa Rachel-chan. So this is the infamous girl that Raphael has told me so much about."

"Has he? It's always great to meet new friends."

"Prompt as always Mr. Murakami."

"Hai. Anata to anata no kazoku no tame ni shokuji o junbi suru tame ni kōeidesu.(It is an honor to prepare meals for you and your family.)" He reaches under the counter and pulls out a decorative basket, with more food than I could eat neatly tucked inside. "And I even added a little extra surprise."

"How much is it all?"

"Oh, you need not worry about that turtle-san. This is a special occasion for you and your young lady. No charge."

"Come on, I gotta give ya' something for these amazing dishes that ya' make for us time and time again."

"Your satisfaction is appreciated more than anything else. Anyway I insist. And take good care of your bichoujo (beautiful girl)."

"Don't you worry Mr. Murakami. She's safe with me. Thank ya again."

"Where exactly are we going?" On the road again, Raph steers us down several roads that were barely lit at all and allowing the moon to make the roads shine blue in the dark.

"You'll see."

"That's what you told me before."

"And I'll keep sayin' it over and over again until ya lose interest."

"Hamato Raphael, over the months I've spent living with you, you may have come to a realization that I don't ever lose interest."

"Exactly." he states, hiding a huge smirk beneath his visor.

He finally stops the bike beside a walkway covered with trees and bushes. He asks for my hand, with the utmost respect; as if he's practiced it a hundred times. It makes me wonder how many romance stories he's read.

As he leads me into the greenway, I can feel his thumb stroking my fingers. A fluttering feeling fills my stomach and butterflies bubble up inside of me. I lengthen my stride and lean closer to his side, my heart beating faster. He holds me close, but abruptly turns for the path and to a shroud of dark shadowy green shrubs.

Behind them, a small wooden box that serves as a table is set with matching cushions, painted Japanese dinnerware, and a vase of dark red roses. The entire scenery of the park is sealed behind the wall of green, but reveals the endless night sky of my beloved stars. A dream laid out before me.

"It isn't much, but...I knew ya weren't a fancy restaurant kind of gal. So I figured a quiet secluded dinner made specially by Murakami under the stars was more your speed."

"Raph...it's beautiful!

He blushes hot red as I hug him tightly and we sit together. He reaches into the basket of food from the Noodle Shop.

"A beautiful flower" he whispers, holding out a white rose with a red ribbon tied around its stem, "For the beautiful love of my life."

The butterflies boil to life again and my heart skips a beat at his words. "Thank you." I look skeptically at the strange food. Just the thought of pizza in dumplings doesn't sound too appetizing.

"Looks weird doesn't it?" he asks with a smirk. He picks one up with his chopsticks and holds it out to me. "Trust me when I say that you'll love em' once you try em'."

On the outside, they taste like a normal potsticker; but on the inside, a soft and sizzling cheesy center. Nothing I've ever tasted before! "Best potstickers ever!"

Raph smiles. "See? Told ya'!"

"Why can't Mikey make these?"

"Honestly, I don't deny that he could, but it's a matter of if he would. Probably could have a slight possibility if that bum got off his shell for a change," he mumbles with gyoza in his mouth. The dish quickly disappears within minutes. "I knew you would...Rachel? What's wrong?"

I take a small sip of my drink, to avoid answering him.

He moves to my side and tentatively takes my hand. "What is it?"

"Nothing is wrong. In fact everything is perfect. It's just….in all my life, no one's ever done anything like this for me before. Never before had I ever imagined that someone would love me as much as you do." I stand up and lay my head on the cushion, my face turned towards the starry sky.

The emerald-eyed turtle runs his fingers through my hair and I close my eyes. "Who wouldn't? Who wouldn't love a girl who can knock a guy twice her size clean off the ground with a single kick?"

I laugh. He does have a point. "I don't know. Because….it just wasn't the kind of quality that many guys back where I lived were looking for….I guess."

"Then you lived in a generation of boneheads." He lays next to me, his arm snaking under my back and pulling me into his side; my eyes still closed. His fingers graze my skin just above the top of my dress, sending shivers down my spine. "They wouldn't know a great girl if she hit 'em over their heads."

I don't move or speak, my head swimming. The turtle, holding me gently in his arms, is almost unrecognizable. April's words from earlier come back to mind. This isn't the same bad-tempered Raph that I met for the first time in the lair, whose bed I woke up in all those many months ago, who shrugged every kind of conversation, or tested me by finally pushed me to the breaking point. He's no longer the cold distant guy that I once thought he was, but a kind-hearted teenage boy with a gritty exterior.

My heart swells with happiness, my arms curling around his shell and over his plastron. I smile into his embrace. He tenses a little, but then seizes the opportunity to wrap his other arm around me and pulls me up onto him. Cupping my face in his large hands, he touches our foreheads together.

"Raphael?" I breath, running my fingers over his bright red mask.

"Yeah?"

My thumb finds the edge and slowly moves upward. Without warning, a large green fist immediately snatches my hand.

"Rachel, no!"

"Why not?"

He frowns. "You won't like it. This bandana….masks the face….of a monster. It's the only thing that hides it."

My fingers caress his face, tracing his battle scars. "Who tells you you're a monster?"

"Those who are not willing to accept what they don't understand."

"Who."

"What?"

"You mean, 'who they don't understand.' You constantly perplex me Raphael, yet I still accept you. I see you in a way that no one else ever will."

His frown doesn't fade. "I told you before, you won't like it."

My fingers tug at the fabric and the emerald hues disappear under the red. His whole body tenses as it comes free in my hand.

He turns from my gaze as my hands voluntarily move over his pine green skin, exploring what is now visible, as if he expected me to turn away in disgust.

He opens one eye and I smile at him, mesmerized.

"Beautiful." I plant a tiny kiss on his forehead, his expression still unchanging.

"Raph—," I start, but he stops me with his lips as they crash into mine. No longer gentle, but rough and passionate. I moan a little as he tilts my head and loses almost any reservation.

"I love you, princess," he says against my mouth as he runs his fingers down the side of my face, grinning into the kiss.

"I love you too Raphael." He grips me tightly, as if I may drift away from him at any moment.

We lay under the stars, locked together in an eternal embrace, and lose all sense of time. I feel all of him in this one kiss; the relief of tension, the overflowing joy in this one moment, his immense never-ending love, and a swell of pride that I don't quite understand.

The only thing beyond my focus is that Raph was still holding me to his chest. His lips still fixed on mine. I've received more kindness from him than I've bargained for. He's given me a home, a loving protecting family, and the one thing that one else could offer. His heart.

A rough slap sends him back onto the floor, Karai watching nonchalantly without so much as a cringe.

"Karai tells me that you have been lazy in your attempts to complete your mission. I give you a command, yet you still fail to locate Hamato Yoshi and his disciples. Disgraceful."

He falls on his face before the Shredder, his arms stretched out to him in reverence. "Master, I beg your forgiveness. We have not seen so much as a trace of them for a long while. They're stealthy, elusive, and there is the entire city to search."

"They harbor the Hirasi girl! The key component to the Kraang's plot and if we are to remain in the upper hand, we must find her."

"We will find them Master. However, perhaps we put too much trust in our truce with our alien allies. Their intel does not prove as accurate—"

"Enough!" The boy loses whatever confidence he has left and the entire room grows quiet. "I don't want excuses, and do not concern yourself with my dealings with the Kraang. You are to obey me and focus on the mission I have assigned you. Or have you forgotten whom you serve?"

He clenches his hands into fists and shakes his head. "No Master. I'm solely devoted to you and the clan. I stake my honor on it. I will do as you ask and will not fail you again."

"We shall see. You will take orders from Karai and continue to search the city until those accursed turtles are found."

The boy balled his hands into fists, but his voice was still calm. "With all due respect Master, I believe I can manage."

"Karai is my daughter and of the highest rank. I have no interest in your petty disputes! You WILL work with her."

A single swipe and a body falls to the floor. The boy jumps back to avoid the blood that stains the floor; where his boots were moments before.

"Failure as well as Rebellion comes with a stiff penalty, and I can assure you that the consequences will be….dire."

Eyes riveted on the floor and avoiding Xever and Bradford's mocking gazes, he falls in line like an obedient dog behind Karai.

"I understand….uncle."

 **DUN! DUN! DUN! Well…What do you think? Review!**


	18. AN - Chapter 16a

**Hey guys! (No this is not a update, but PLEASE keep reading before you close the tab on your screen! You won't be disappointed.) It's been a really long time since I updated, I know. There have been a few times that this story has been presumed dead. But I'm writing to let ya'll know, this story is nowhere near dead! I've been hammered with college and responsibilities as a growing adult are finally catching up with me, though I hate to admit it. Even if I have more work to do, I've still got big plans for this fanfic.**

 **Usually the drill in an author's note is, the author writes a note to explain why there are few updates or hold-ups to updates, for whatever reason.**

 **Ya'll didn't really think I wasted this WHOLE page for six lines worth of explanations for the lack of updates, did you? To give all my readers a HUGE THANK YOU for taking such interest in this story and showing it some love, I'm releasing a sneak peek of what will be happening in the next chapter. It's not a full chap, more of an epilogue for the last one, but I hope you guys like it anyway! Til' next time, I'll been stickin' around! Cha!**

 **"I want all of you,**

 **Your flaws, your mistakes,**

 **Your imperfections,**

 **I want you...and only you."**

Little shards of light flickered in and out. I am too tired to move or speak, but I begin to feel again. My

face is tucked up against something hard and smooth, but warm to the touch. The gentle sway of my body

can only mean that Raphael is carrying me. I guess I must have fallen asleep next to him. I can't help but feel

a little guilty that he has to keep doing that. Whenever we spend time together, I'm always so exhausted.

Then again, I've gotten quite used to it. He really is the best boyfriend I've ever had. I could never have

asked for another any other way.

Although, the one thing that I can't seem to accept is that even when I mask my emotions or feelings to

the best of my ability, he still reads me loud and clear like a book just by looking at me. He tries to as well,

but even then I can tell just by the sound of his breathing or the impatience of his stride. I understand that he

has his secrets and so do I. I cannot keep them from him, not that I've had the need so far. But if I did have

to...he would still figure it out anyway. I'm afraid I'll burden him with my thoughts and insecurities. Partners

shoulder each other's troubles together, but I want more than anything to prove to him that I'm his equal and

I'm just as strong as he is. Some things I'll need to face on my own, without him to help me. I can't keep

making him worry over me all the time or else I'll never learn. But how can I if he can catch the very faintest

sign that something is bothering me or worrying me?

The cool air blowing against my skin starts to warm up. The familiar creak of my bedroom door as he taps

the door open with his foot and I want to cling to him as his warmth leaves me. My body settles into a

comfortable mattress and it becomes even harder for me

to stay awake. Fingers fiddle with my sandals and they come off, toppling onto the floor with a soft clop.

"Thanks," I whisper softly. Apparently he heard me.

"Hey, you don't shut up and get some sleep princess, I'm gonna be kicking your tail in training tomorrow."

I punch him hard in the shoulder, but he just winces with a wide grin, "What? What was that for?"

"You touch my tail hothead and you're dead meat," I growl.

He pokes me in the side, causing me to squirm and laugh. "Is that a threat, Big Bad Wolf?" He whispers

defiantly into me ear, so close to my ear that it tickles.

"Who are you calling big? And don't even think about staying up late to train tonight Mr," tapping him on

the nose with my finger, which he hates.

"Geez, okay mom. Goodnight," he rolls his eyes, arranging the covers over me as I get comfortable.

"Get some sleep Rach," he says sweetly as he smoothes away some stray hair on my brow and plants a kiss on

my forehead.

He's smiles as his hand slips out of mine and closes the door quietly behind him.

I don't want him to go. I want him to stay right here with me to guard me from the nightmares and visions

that plague my dreams.

I don't want to fall asleep, but the fluffy mattress under me and the soft blanket around my legs are so

tempting, I fall into a blissful black coma.

 _I'm falling through the lights again, turning to a path as clear as glass. The star streaks fly past, making my hair fly. The bright light shines at the end of the bridge._

 _I see Raph fighting me in the dojo, both of us locked together in intense combat. "A little initiation into the Hamato Clan that he proposed. Of course I accepted. I was wearing my new garb and had the pearl sword that he gave me. I didn't win and he'll never let me live it down, but it still be a memory to treasure."_

 _With every step, the glass beneath glows red and more pictures flash past me. Master Splinter teaching me a new technique when I first started training. Leo meditating with me when the nightmares wouldn't let me rest. Mikey trying his very best to be me at Call of Duty: BLACK OPS; I'm still the undefeated champ no matter how many times he tries to beat me._

" _Why do I see the same things over and over!?" I screamed to the breeze, not caring about how the words came out of my mouth! "Why show them to me? I know that they are my family now, but why does this routine never change?! Why am I seeing all of this?!_

 _The light engulfs me, the cool floor turning green and bright green grass erupting from the ground like the very beginning of spring. The house with red shutters stood as empty and abandoned as it always did._

" _I guess this really must have been my home before I came here to NYC. But what do these visions of the turtles have to do with this dead memory? Why do I keep seeing this over and over again?!_

 _Even if no one ever answered me, it still felt better to yell!_

 _I peered into the windows on the porch, but I can't see anything. As soon as my fingers touch the window, the glass ripples like water. The ripples grow wider and wider! The red paint on the shutters fades to dull brown, peeling and curling. The grass is brown and ugly, the weeds overtaking the shrubbery and ivy covering the neglected house._

 _The floor gives out under my feet! I try to grab the crumpling sod, but it dissipates in my hands when I touch it!_

 _I fall onto a hard surface, but it doesn't hurt. Hoisting myself up, I'm staring down at my shadow, surrounded all around by a blue light. The rock-like floor is moist and cold and spiked metal mesh bars the only opening!_

 _"A prison cell, but what am I doing here? What the heck is going on?!"_

 _I look up above to find the source of the light, which was shining brightly throughout the small room through a stain glass window with red and black adorning the framework. Tiny specks twinkled in the light like stardust._

 _"Choose." A voice whispered in front of me!_

 _I look in front of me to see a black figure, about my size! But it's completely black!_

 _"What? Who are you?"_

 _"Choose." The figure repeated, emotionless like a Kraang, "Before it's too late."_

 _A dagger appears in my right hand, the blade stained with blood! A rusty key lays on the floor on my left, and a detonator button in the middle!_

 _"What should I choose? And why?"_

 _"Choose," the voice said again, this time as if they were pleading, "Our else everyone you love will die."_

 _There's blood on my hands! It's all around me!_

 _"Choose Rachel. And hurry!"_

I sit up! The vision dissipates and I feel like I've been holding my breath a long time.

"What was that?"

"Yo, Rachel? You awake?" Someone knocks at my door.

"Oh, yes Mikey. I'll be out in a moment."


End file.
